Tea Party, NRA, Influenced Voters

More voters listened for the message of the tea party than any other group leading up to the recent midterm elections, according to a recent poll conducted by Zogby International for The O’Leary Report.

The poll also found that a sizeable percentage of voters listened for the National Rifle Association’s message as well. The poll was conducted Nov. 12-15 of 2,062 voters and has a margin-of-error of 2.2 percentage points.

The poll asked, "For the following groups, please tell us if you listened to their messages before the election all of the time, most of the time, some of the time or never: Tea Party Organizations, The National Rifle Association."

A strong majority of voters (61 percent) say they listened to the message of the tea party all of the time, most or some of the time, and just 38 percent say they never listened to it.

Nearly half of all voters (44 percent) say they listened for the NRA’s message all, most, or some of the time.

The tea party also scored big among independents, as 59 percent say they listened for their message. A sizeable 42 percent of independents also listened for the message of the NRA.

Among those who attend church weekly, 81 percent say they listened for the tea party message, and a 57 percent majority say they listened for the NRA’s message.

Among NRA members themselves, 92 percent say they listened for the tea party message. Likewise, a very strong majority of tea party voters (76 percent) say they listened for the NRA’s message.

A large majority of small business owners (70 percent) say they listened for the message of the tea party, and a 53 percent majority said they listened for NRA’s message as well.

“These numbers show that the tea party and the NRA were the two major voices that influenced voter opinion in the midterm elections,” said Brad O’Leary, publisher of The O’Leary Report.

This Zogby International poll was commissioned by The O'Leary Report newsletter. To view full poll results and crosstabs for today's release, click here or go to www.olearyreport.com.

Brad O'Leary is publisher of The O'Leary Report, a best-selling author, and  a former NBC Westwood One talk-show host. Go to www.olearyreport.com. To interview Brad, contact Shawna Shriner for more: ShawnaS@thepm-group.com