FreedomWorks Executive Vice President Adam Brandon said he'd rather see the tea party "take over the GOP" than create a third party.
In an interview with the Akron Beacon Journal published Dec. 5, Brandon dismissed the idea of the tea party becoming a third party, saying "eventually, the main tea party will go away and slowly take over the GOP."
“Third parties have not been successful,” Brandon told the Beacon Journal. “I would rather take over the GOP… I see in the next several years a battle for control of the GOP.”
Brandon said he believes tools like Facebook and Twitter could help the tea party take over.
"With Facebook and Twitter, an authentic candidate can connect with voters," Brandon said. "The tea party influence will replace a new donor base, an activist base."
Recent polling suggests the tea party movement is struggling: unfavorable views of the tea party have nearly doubled over the past two years, according to a Pew Research survey released in October. As Reuters reported in November, voters nationally blame the recent government shutdown on Republicans, and particularly the Tea Party, which suffered losses in several major elections this year.
Read more from Brandon's interview with the Akron Beacon Journal here.
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