WASHINGTON, Sept. 28 (UPI) -- The Tea Party movement is gaining influence in U.S. politics and becoming a major force within the Republican Party, a poll issued Tuesday indicates.
The Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll found 71 percent of Republicans said they support or have a favorable image of the movement or hoped its candidates would fare well in the November election.
The movement has been instrumental in defeating GOP incumbents and party-backed candidates in numerous state primaries, regarding establishment party figures as insufficiently committed to small government and lower taxes.
Republican pollster Bill McInturff, who conducted the survey with Democratic pollster Peter Hart, said the growing support within the party for Tea Party candidates is likely to push the Republican Party in a more conservative direction and make it less open to compromise on policy.
"These are essentially conservative Republicans who are very ticked-off people," he said.
The poll indicated Tea Party supporters account for one-third of likely voters in the Nov. 2 election.
It also found increased energy among some Democratic voting blocs, including Latinos and blacks.
Asked which party they would prefer to control Congress, 46 percent said the Republican Party and 43 percent said they preferred Democrats. That is down from a 9 percent edge for the GOP a month ago, the Journal said.
The poll found President Barack Obama with a 46 percent job approval rating.
