In March 2010, about a year after the movement’s first major national protests, 48% of Republicans said they agreed with the tea party, while just 4% said they disagreed (26% said they had no opinion of the movement and 21% had not heard of it). By comparison, just 6% of Democrats and Democratic leaners agreed with the movement, while 25% disagreed (31% had no opinion and 37% had not heard of it).

In fall of 2010, more than half of Republicans expressed agreement with the tea party. While support declined in subsequent years, roughly a third or more of Republicans continued to express agreement with the movement for the next several years. By fall 2015, the share of Republicans who said they agreed with the tea party had dropped to 28%. Although Pew Research Center stopped regularly tracking this question in 2015, the question was last asked in August 2016; in that survey, 36% of Republicans and GOP leaners reported agreeing with the movement.