Tea Pary Turnout: A Rundown of Estimates

A bare minimum of 25,650 people turned out for tea party protests across the country today, according to news estimates, a survey of reports from local newspapers, TV affiliates, and wire services shows.

Presumably, more than that turned out. The tendency of smaller cities (particularly state capitols) to draw larger crowds makes counting difficult, and many news outlets were not specific in their estimates (reporting "hundreds" or "thousands," for instance, as opposed to specific numbers--the 25,650 figure assumes the lowest possible numbers within those ranges).


(UPDATE: A reader, randy_khan, makes a good point, one that I should have included in the first place: in some of these estimates, reporters do not specify where the estimates are coming from--direct observation, police, or organizers--though I purposely did not include estimates that were explicitly attributed to protesters or organizers.)

Larger protests in San Antonio and Atlanta happening later in the day have yet to be accounted for, so the number will likely rise. Turnout for protests in other cities, such as Miami, has not been estimated. Organizers have estimated 600-800 protests nationwide.

Here's a preliminary rundown of crowd estimates:

-Annapolis, MD: "hundreds," according to the Baltimore Sun

- Austin, TX: 1,000, according to The Dallas Morning News. Gov. Rick Perry (R) addressed the crowd.

 - Bakersfield, CA: 150-200 as of noon Pacific, according to the Bakersfield Californian. House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-OH) will reportedly attend a tea party protest there today.

- Boston, MA: 500, according to The New York Times

- Chicago, IL: "thousands," according to the Chicago Daily Observer

- Cincinnati, OH: 4,000, according to the Associated Press

- Dallas, TX: 500, according to The Dallas Morning News (a larger rally is expected later Wednesday night)

- Denver, CO: 5,000+, according to The Denver Post

- Des Moines, IA: 1,000, according to the Associated Press

- Hartford, CT: 3,000, according to the Associated Press

- Lansing, MI: 4,000, according to the Associated Press

- Madison, WI: "thousands," according to the Associated Press (event organizers claimed 5,000). Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI) appeared.

- Montgomery, AL: 1,000, according to the Associated Press

- Morristown, NJ: 300, according to the Associated Press

- New Haven, CT: 1,000, according to the Associated Press

- Sacramento, CA: 2,000, according to a local ABC affiliate (Fox News reported 5,000, according to AFP)

- Washington, DC: "hundreds" gathered in front of the White House, according to The Washington Post (AFP reported roughly 1,000)