Many Republicans have embraced Tea Partiers as conservative colleagues, but a pollster on Fox News warns the GOP not to take the movement's support for granted.
"It's not so much that the independents are voting for the Republicans; they're voting against what they perceive to be President Obama and the Democrats' liberal big spending, deficit-enhancing policies... The Tea Party, while center-right, is nonpartisan... the Tea Party is trending Republican, but they are not aligned fundamentally with the Republican Party."
On CNN, a Tea Party activist says the movement is more interested in changing the face of American government than helping one major party over the other.
"It's really about getting people animated, to get their votes in, change the makeup of Congress, change the makeup of state legislatures, and ultimatley vote the way we want them to vote."
writer: Tracy Pfeiffer
producer: Newsy Staff
