Poll: Tea Party beats GOP on generic ballot

In a sign that the Tea Party movement could cause electoral headaches for the GOP, a new Rasmussen poll shows the new conservative brand doing better than the Republican party on a generic ballot.

In a three-way generic ballot, Rasmussen's newest poll shows that 36 percent of respondents support a Democrat, while a Tea-Party candidate picks up 23 percent, and a traditional GOP candidate garners just 18 percent of the support. While the Tea-Party crowd have gained support among those who consider themselves Republicans, they've also made up real ground among Independents. Among respondents who don't identify themselves as belonging to either major party, the Tea-Party has 33 percent support, with the Democrats gaining 25 percent and just 12 percent of respondents support the GOP. Those who consider themselves Conservatives are also following Tea-Party news closer than anyone else. 43 percent of GOP voters are following news about the movement 'Very Closely' while an additional 30 percent are following it 'Somewhat Closely'. Just 12 percent of Democrats are following stories about the Tea Party movement 'Very Closely'. Among Republicans, 70 percent of respondents have a favorable view of Tea-Partiers while just seven percent have an unfavorable view. Perhaps most interesting is that 49 percent of Democrats have no view either way of the Tea-Party movement.