Support for—and opposition to—the Tea Party is higher in Washington State than in the nation as a whole, according to a just-released Elway Poll. The poll found that 37 percent of Washington State voters surveyed supported the Tea Party “strongly” (19 percent) or “moderately” (18 percent), while 43 percent opposed it “strongly” (31 percent) or “moderately” (12 percent).

Not surprisingly, Tea Party support was much higher among Republicans (70 percent of whom supported the party, 42 percent of those "strongly") and self-identified Independents (44 percent of whom supported the party, 20 percent of them "strongly"). Seventy-one percent of Democrats opposed the Tea Party, 53 percent of them "strongly."

Interestingly, rising support for the Tea Party appears to help Democrats: Adding a hypothetical Tea Party candidate to a generic Republican-vs.-Democrat race reduced support for the Republican from 35 percent to 28 percent, while support for the Democrat remained unchanged at 45 percent.

Even more interesting: A Republican candidate who wants to win more than 51 percent has a choice of seeking out Tea Party supporters (52 percent of whom said they were inclined to vote Republican) and a significant number of undecided voters (67 percent of whom were opposed to the Tea Party). This situation, the poll concludes, "adds up to an intricate dance for Republican candidates. How do they simultaneously
attract committed Tea Party voters, and undecided voters who oppose the Tea Party, while keeping all the Republicans on board?"

Exacerbating Republicans' likely electoral problems, more voters identified as Democrats than at any point since right before the 2008 presidential election—41 percent, compared to just 27 percent who identified as Republicans. (The rest were undecided or Independent). All of that paints a bleak picture for Republicans' electoral chances in Washington State this year.