In a recent Think Tank post Linda Killian noted that while the tea party’s overall standing has diminished, it still holds powerful sway over the Republican Party because tea-party supporters are more engaged and likely to vote in primaries. This underscores that while more “mainstream” Republican candidates may have done […] Read more »
Four Years in, GOP Support for Tea Party Down to 41%
About four in 10 Republicans and Republican-leaning independents classify themselves as supporters of the Tea Party, while 11% are opponents and 48% are neither. This continues to be a significant drop from the Tea Party’s high-water mark in November 2010, when 61% of Republicans were supporters of the Tea Party. […] Read more »
What do Tea Partiers think of the GOP?
On Monday, Seth Masket wrote a piece about the schism between Tea Partiers and the GOP, investigating whether it mirrors the division between the 1980s Republican elites and the main conservative faction of that time, the Religious Right. Masket suggests that the Tea Party and the GOP might differ less […] Read more »
Tea party vs. establishment as primary season opens
A major subplot of this year’s midterm elections is the competition between the Republican establishment and the tea party wing of the party. The establishment is fighting back, but has the tea party already won? … Most closely watched for clues about the balance of power in the GOP will […] Read more »
The five clans of the GOP
… Republicans have now become a party of true believers, and true believers do not tolerate heresy. Representative Paul Ryan (R-Wis.), the party’s former vice presidential nominee, told Iowa Republicans last week, “This is the Lenten season. Here’s what I say: we give up infighting, tunnel vision, acrimony. We need […] Read more »
Nine in G.O.P. Vie to Succeed Arizona Governor, With Party Identity at Stake
… In the weeks since Gov. Jan Brewer announced that she would not run for re-election, the already crowded field of Republicans looking to replace her has grown noisy, with nine candidates of widely varying interests and experiences vying for attention. The very definition of “Republican” in this state of […] Read more »