From Elena Fanjul-Debnam at Public Policy Polling:
We know that the Tea Party is creating political shifts. But are the shifts great enough to create a realignment or are they simply strong enough to readjust the focus of the Republican party? It has been hard to tell because until now, we haven’t been able to decipher a Tea Partier’s party alignment when given the three traditional options Democrat, Republican and Independent. If they still identify as Republicans then maybe they are reshaping the Republican Party agenda. But if they are stepping out as Independents then maybe they are truly creating their own party. In this month’s national poll we gathered some of that data.
When asked “Do you identify as a member of the Tea Party?,” 25% of Americans said yes. However, when the Tea Party was added to our traditional party demographic question; “If you are a Democratic press 1, Republican press 2, Tea Partier press 3….” only 10% of Americans said they were part of the Tea Party.