Generic Congressional Ballot
Generic Congressional Ballot: Republicans 47%, Democrats 38%
Monday, August 23, 2010 Email to a Friend ShareThis.Advertisement
Republicans now hold a nine-point lead over Democrats on the Generic Congressional Ballot for the week ending Sunday, August 22, 2010.
A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that 47% of Likely Voters would vote for their district's Republican congressional candidate, while 38% would opt for his or her Democratic opponent.
The previous week, Republicans held a 12-point lead, the biggest they've had in over a decade of Rasmussen Reports surveying. But support for Republicans is down one point from then, while support for Democrats is up two points. Republicans have led on the Generic Congressional Ballot since June of last year, and their lead hasn’t fallen below five points since the beginning of December. GOP support since June 2009 has ranged from 41% to 48%. Support for Democrats in the same period has run from 35% to 40%.
Eighty-four percent (84%) of Republicans back their party's candidate, while 76% of Democrats support the candidate of their party. Voters not affiliated with either party prefer the GOP candidate by a 48% to 25% margin.
Fifty-three percent (53%) of white voters favor the Republican, but 71% of African-Americans prefer the Democrat.
The number of Republicans in the United States slipped a point during July, while the number of unaffiliated voters gained a point. Overall, the numbers signal a high level of stability in the parties since there have been only modest shifts throughout 2010.
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Results for this survey are compiled on a full-week basis and crosstabs for full-week results and generic ballot trends are available for Platinum Members only.
The Generic Ballot results were much different during the last two election cycles when Democrats regularly had large leads. When President Obama was inaugurated in January 2009, Democrats enjoyed a seven-point advantage. The two parties were very close through the spring of 2009, but in June, around the time Democrats began their campaign for health care reform, Republicans pulled ahead for good.
Incumbent members of Congress don’t exactly get a vote of confidence from their constituents. Just 27% of voters think their representative in Congress is the best possible person for the job, down six points from November of last year. Only 37% believe their local congressional representative deserves reelection, compared to 42% who felt that way way last fall.
Sixty percent (60%) of voters say most members of Congress don’t care what their constituents think.
In addition to becoming competitive in his bid for reelection in Nevada, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid is now nearly tied with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi when it comes to unpopularity among voters nationwide.
Forty-eight percent (48%) of voters now regard President Obama’s political views as extreme.
Forty-two percent (42%) place his views in the mainstream.
Fifty-six percent (56%) of U.S. voters continue to favor repeal of the national health care bill, with 46% who Strongly Favor repeal.
The U.S. Justice Department has told a major Ohio county to print bilingual ballots for the November election or it will be sued by the government. But most voters believe that election ballots in this country should be printed only in English.
An overwhelming majority of voters think all those who vote in this country should be required to present photo identification before they cast their ballots.
Nearly two weeks after British Petroleum (BP) sealed the massive oil leak in the Gulf of Mexico, voters are a bit less critical of the company and the president for their response to the disaster.
While Washington policy makers continue to fret about the troubled housing market, most Americans remain opposed to government intervention in that sector of the economy.
Fifty-seven percent (57%) of Americans say the current state of the economy is causing more stress in their families.
A lot more voters are paying attention to the plans to build a mosque near the Ground Zero site of the 9/11 terrorist attacks in New York City, and they don’t like the idea.
Twenty-eight percent (28%) of voters say the country is heading in the right direction.
Iran’s first nuclear plant has gone online, and some speculate that Israel will take military action against it. Fifty-one percent (51%) of voters believe the United States should help Israel if it attacks Iran.
Rasmussen Reports has recently surveyed House races in North Dakota and South Dakota and Senate races in Arizona, Alabama, Arkansas, California, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Missouri, Nevada, New York, North Dakota, North Carolina, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Vermont, Washington and Wisconsin.
Rasmussen Reports also has released recent polls on the 2010 governor's races in Alabama, Arizona, California, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Mexico, New York, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Vermont, Wisconsin and Wyoming.
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