Washington Post Canvass

An up-close look at the tea party
and its role in the midterm elections

Over the past several weeks, The Washington Post attempted to contact every tea party group in the country in an effort to gauge the scope of the nascent movement. Interviews with nearly 650 organizations revealed a movement that has attracted hundreds of thousands of first-time activists but one that shows little interest in becoming a coordinated political force. Read the story »

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SOURCE: This Washington Post tea party canvass of local tea party groups is a first attempt to understand the network of individuals and organizations at the heart of the nascent political movement. A total of 647 interviews were conducted from Oct. 6 to Oct. 13 with people listed as contacts for tea party groups. Interviews were conducted on conventional landline and cellular telephones, and with tea party-related spokesmen, in 49 states. Phone numbers were collected online from lists of tea party groups, from an online form created by The Post and from other sources. No definitive list of tea party organizations exists. Data collection and tabulation by Interviewing Service of America (ISA) of Van Nuys, CA, with management and consulting by Langer Research Associates of New York, NY. Also assisting with data collection were the following government students from Georgetown University: Nigel Anthony, Emily Gaard, Jordan Grushkin, Eric Mooring, Simon O'Connor, Melanie O'Sullivan, Stephanie Posek and Katherine Relle; and Washington Post intern Dylan Matthews. Special thanks to Georgetown University graduate student Jonathan Mummolo and professors Clyde Wilcox and Daniel Hopkins.

GRAPHIC: Karen Yourish, Dan Keating, Nathaniel Vaughn Kelso and Laura Stanton - The Washington Post, Oct. 24, 2010.