One Poll Says Public Still Favors Democrats Over Republicans in Midterms

2 years ago

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The story line today after Republican Scott Brown's upset victory in Democratic Massachusetts is that it is an ominous omen for the majority party in this midterm election year, but an Associated Press/GfK Roper poll conducted Jan. 12-17 says 49 percent of those surveyed want the Democrats to keep control of Congress while 37 percent support the Republicans. Ten percent don't care and 3 percent are undecided.

In October, 45 percent wanted them to win in 2010 and 32 percent rooted for the Republicans. The poll tested the views of all adults, not registered or likely voters.

The advantage given the Democrats in this poll is higher than in two other recent "generic" matchups of the parties.

A CNN/Opinion Research poll conducted Jan. 8-10 found the Democrats and Republicans in a statistical tie (46 percent for the Republicans, 45 percent for the Democrats) among all adults. Narrowed to registered voters, the Republicans led 48 percent to 45 percent. The margin of error for both samples is 3 points. A Pew Research Center poll conducted Jan. 6-10 produced a similar result.

The poll points to an anti-incumbent sentiment with 47 percent saying they would like to see someone else than their own current member of Congress be elected, while 43 percent would back their current representative. Four percent don't care and 6 percent are undecided.

Fifty-six percent approve of President Obama's job performance while 42 percent do not, the same as December. Fifty-seven percent disapprove of the performance of congressional Democrats while 40 percent give them positive marks. Sixty-five percent disapprove of congressional Republicans, while 32 percent endorse their performance.

The public is split on Obama's handling of the economy with 48 percent disapproving and 47 percent approving. The same is true for health care where those who approve or disapprove are tied at 48 percent each. Again, this differs from other recent national polls that show higher disapproval rates for Obama on these issues.

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Filed Under: Democrats, Republicans, Barack Obama, Economy, Health Care, Polls, Obama Administration, Poll Watch, 2010 Elections, Congress

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