3 in 10 Californians identify with the Tea Party

The Tea Party anti-big government, anti-tax, anti-some-other-stuff folks are sinking their ideological roots into the Golden State rather quickly -- and deeply. Hmm, and there's a midterm election for every House seat, a third of the Senate and dozens of governors' chairs this coming November. A new Field Poll out this afternoon finds that 28% of the state's voters identify with that protest movement while nearly two-thirds already know about them. California support for these protesters is concentrated among Republicans and conservatives, whose energy, money, online muscle and motivation played significant roles in some recent elections, fed, according to other polls, by growing concerns about federal spending and record deficits...read more