ShareThisSACRAMENTO, Calif. - California Republicans are far more likely to identify with Tea Party protesters and the claim by some that President Barack Obama was not born in the U.S. and therefore is ineligible to be president, according to a new poll.
The survey by the nonpartisan Field Poll is the first to examine California voters' views on the Tea Party rallies that, since emerging last winter, have featured vocal criticism of perceived government overspending, health care legislation, illegal immigration and other issues.
Tea Party activists already have influenced congressional races in New York and Massachusetts. Organizers contend that the protests reflect unhappiness by voters of all ideological stripes and will be a major factor in this year's midterm elections.
The poll released Tuesday, which was conducted earlier this month, found that 61 percent of California voters are aware of the protests. Of those, 12 percent of voters identify a lot with the protests, including 31 percent of Republicans and 13 percent of independents. Another 25 percent of Republicans and 21 percent of independents identify somewhat with the Tea Party rallies.
Just 11 percent of Democrats, who make up about 45 percent of the California electorate, agree with the protesters.
California's demographics could limit the movement's growth in the state, Field Poll Director Mark DiCamillo said. Poll results indicate that voters who identify a lot or somewhat with Tea Party complaints are disproportionately white, he said.
About two-thirds of California's registered voters are white non-Hispanic, 21 percent are Latino, 8.2 percent are Asian or other ethnicity and 5.8 percent are black, based on an August report by the Field Poll.
Ron Nehring, chairman of the California Republican Party, said the poll shows that GOP candidates will be able to tap into a highly motivated base of voters and volunteers.
"The world is run by those who show up. Tea Party activists show up and that's important," Nehring said.
Nehring distanced himself from the poll's finding that just 29 percent of voters who strongly agree with the tea-party movement -- and 42 percent of Republican voters generally -- believe that Obama was born in the United States. Nehring said he believes Obama is eligible to be president.
Overall, 67 percent of California voters believe Obama was born in the country, including 71 percent of independents and 85 percent of Democrats.
California Democratic Party Chairman John Burton called it "bizarre and scary" that so many Republicans seem open to the idea that Obama is ineligible to be president.
"Anyone with a modicum of intelligence knows that's not the case," Burton said.
Democrats understand the frustration driving the Tea-Party movement and the challenges facing the Democratic Party's candidates in November, he said. "We expect a tough fight and we know it's coming. We're going to be ready for it," he said.
Tuesday's Field Poll was conducted Jan. 5-17 for The Press-Enterprise and other California news media subscribers. It is based on the responses of 1,232 registered voters. It has a margin of error of plus or minus 2.9 percentage points.
(Distributed by Scripps Howard News Service, www.scrippsnews.com.)
Must credit The Press-Enterprise of Riverside, Calif.
