Members of Congress face the most anti-incumbent electorate since 1994, with less than a third of all voters saying they are inclined to support their representatives in November, according to a new Washington Post-ABC News poll. Dissatisfaction is widespread, crossing party lines, ideologies and virtually all groups of voters. Less than a quarter of independents and just three in 10 Republicans say they’re leaning toward backing an incumbent this fall. Even among Democrats, who control the House, the Senate and the White House, opinion is evenly divided on the question. ‘I’m not really happy right now with anybody’ in Washington, Sandy Davis, 64, a Republican from Decatur, Ill. said in a follow-up interview. Although she expressed ‘mixed feelings’ about a fresh crop of lawmakers, she added: ‘When the country was founded, those guys were all pretty new at it. How bad would it be?’ Still, for President Obama and his party, there are some positive signs in the poll. The public trusts Democrats more than Republicans to handle the major problems facing the country by a double-digit margin, giving Democrats a bigger lead than they held two months ago, when Congress was engaged in the long endgame […]
Tuesday, May 4th, 2010
Poll Finds Americans In An Anti-incumbent Mood As Midterm Elections Near
Author: DAN BALZ and JON COHEN
Source: Washington Post
Publication Date: Wednesday, April 28, 2010
Link: Poll Finds Americans In An Anti-incumbent Mood As Midterm Elections Near
Source: Washington Post
Publication Date: Wednesday, April 28, 2010
Link: Poll Finds Americans In An Anti-incumbent Mood As Midterm Elections Near
Stephan: If Democrats lose either House to a Republican Party dominated by Tea Bagger wingnuts, the Congress will become even less functional than it already is. What amazes me is that in the midst of financial and environmental catastrophes, both resulting from a lack of government regulation, a big part of the American electorate wants more of the same.