According to a new statewide poll, the tea party’s
fortunes are fading in Michigan, particularly among the all-important
independent voters.
The Lambert Edwards & Associates (LE&A) poll conducted by
Denno Research also found that Gov. Rick Snyder, certainly not a tea party
favorite, has opened up a 45 percent to 31 percent lead over Democratic
challenger Mark Schauer, a former congressman from Battle Creek.
At the same time, the tea party sparks strong feelings, with
more than one-third of voters saying their view of the tea partiers is
“strongly unfavorable.” Some 29 percent of voters see the movement in
a favorable light, but just 11 percent say their opinion is “strongly
favorable.”
Women and independents are
problem areas for the tea party, according to the survey.
Among women, the tea party
receives unfavorable reviews from 44 percent and favorable sentiments from 25
percent — a 19-point deficit. Among independents, the numbers are identical.
LE&A Director TJ Bucholz told Inside Michigan Politics that
the tea party damaged its brand by veering away from a strictly economic
message.
“Economic issues were,
at one point, at their core, but leadership has allowed social issues to completely
draw them off what was once a good rhetorical course,” he said. “And
I don’t think they can ever right the ship.”

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