Democrats Losing Edge to Republicans on 'Whom Do You Trust?'

Democrats are losing their edge over Republicans when it comes to whom Americans trust to do a better job in coping with the nation's problems over the next few years, according to a Washington Post/ABC News poll conducted Feb. 4-8.

Forty-three percent trust Democrats more while 37 percent put their faith in Republicans, with 17 percent trusting neither. Last November, Democrats were favored by 47 percent to 31 percent, with 17 percent trusting neither. In February, their margin had been 56 percent to 30 percent with 9 percent trusting neither. The margin of error in the current poll is 3 points.

Americans believe by 57 percent to 36 percent that it is a good thing the Democrats lost their veto-proof majority in the Senate because it will force them to cooperate more with Republicans, but by a 68 percent to 25 percent margin, they say the Republicans should only use that leverage "just some" or "rarely." Fifty-eight percent say Republican congressional leaders are doing too little to compromise with President Obama while 30 percent say they are doing the right amount.

On the generic congressional ballot question, Americans were evenly split at 46 percent each on whether they preferred a Democratic or Republican candidate. When the question was limited to registered voters, Republicans had a 48 percent to 45 percent edge. The margin of error is 3 points.

Fifty-six percent said they were inclined to look around for someone else to send to Congress in this year's midterms while 36 percent said they would vote to re-elect their representative, with 4 percent answering it "depends" and 4 percent undecided. In February, 48 percent were in "look around" mode while 40 percent said they'd re-elect their current lawmaker.

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