Four polls confirm that Occupy Wall Street has at least equaled, and likely surpassed, the tea party in terms of total number of supporters. No matter how polling firms phrase their questions, the tea party never comes out on top.
Here are all of the polls that have not only asked some variation of a direct support or not support question for Occupy Wall Street, but which have also asked an identical question for the tea party:
Public Policy Polling for Daily Kos/SEIU. 10/20-23. Registered voters. MoE 3.1%
Q: Do you consider yourself to be a supporter of the Occupy Wall Street movement or not?
Supporter: 31
Not a supporter: 51
Not sure: 17
Q: Do you consider yourself to be a supporter of the Tea Party or not?
Supporter: 31
Not a supporter: 56
Not sure: 13
Pew. 10/20-23. Adults nationwide. MoE 4%
Q: "From what you've read and heard, do you strongly support, somewhat support, somewhat oppose, or strongly oppose the Occupy Wall Street movement?"
Support: 39
Oppose: 35
Neither / Unsure: 26
Q: "From what you've read and heard, do you strongly support, somewhat support, somewhat oppose, or strongly oppose the Tea Party movement?"
Support: 32
Oppose: 44
Neither / Unsure: 25
Gallup. Oct 15-16. Adults nationwide. MoE 3%
Q: "Do you consider yourself to be a supporter of the Occupy Wall Street movement, an opponent of the Occupy Wall Street movement, or neither?"
Supporter: 26
Opponent: 19
Neither / Unsure: 56
Q: "Do you consider yourself to be a supporter of the Tea Party movement, an opponent of the Tea Party movement, or neither?"
Supporter: 22
Opponent: 27
Neither / Unsure: 52
AP-GfK (PDF). 10/13-17. Adults nationwide. MoE 3%
Q: "Do you consider yourself a supporter of the Wall Street protests, or are you not a supporter of the Wall Street protests?"
Supporter: 37
Not a supporter: 56
Unsure: 7
Q: "Do you consider yourself a supporter of the Tea Party movement, or are you not a supporter of the Tea Party movement?"
Supporter: 28
Not a supporter: 68
Unsure: 4
While statistical noise and varied question wordings produce different outcomes, the bottom line is clear. The tea party is no longer the protest movement with the most supporters in the United States.
