WASHINGTON, March 30 (UPI) -- The Tea Party movement has slipped in public esteem since the current U.S. Congress was seated in January, a poll released Wednesday said.
About one-third of those surveyed for the CNN/Opinion Research poll said they have a favorable view of the Tea Party, down 5 percentage points since December. The group with unfavorable views has ratcheted up 4 points to 47 percent.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., said the poll shows the public "doesn't care much about the Tea Party."
The Tea Party has dropped the most in popularity among U.S. residents in the bottom half of the income distribution, CNN said. Since October, its favorability rating has dropped 15 points among people with incomes below $50,000 and 5 points among those making more than $50,000.
"This is the first time that a CNN poll has shown the Tea Party's unfavorable ratings as high as those of the two major parties," said CNN Polling Director Keating Holland. "It looks like the rise in the movement's unfavorable rating has come mostly among people who make less than $50,000."
The poll of 1,023 people was conducted by telephone March 11-13. The margin of error is 3 percentage points.
