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Re: Congressional races now competitive
A potential shift in fortunes for the Republicans in Congress is seen in the latest USA Today/Gallup survey, with the Democrats now leading the Republicans by just 3 percentage points, 48% to 45%, in voters' "generic ballot" preferences for Congress. This is down from consistent double-digit Democratic leads seen on this measure over the past year.
The new results come from a Sept. 5-7 survey conducted immediately after the Republican National Convention and mirror the resulting enhanced position of the Republican Party seen in several other indicators. These range from John McCain's improved standing against Barack Obama in the presidential race to improved favorability ratings of the Republicans, to Republican gains in party identification. The sustainability of all of these findings is an open question that polling will answer over the next few weeks.
The positive impact of the GOP convention on polling indicators of Republican strength is further seen in the operation of Gallup's "likely voter" model in this survey. Republicans, who are now much more enthused about the 2008 election than they were prior to the convention, show heightened interest in voting, and thus outscore Democrats in apparent likelihood to vote in November. As a result, Republican candidates now lead Democratic candidates among likely voters by 5 percentage points, 50% to 45%.
Congressional Approval Also Troubling for Democrats
With only 18% of Americans in August saying they approve of the job Congress is doing, similar to the average 20% approval rating for Congress all year, the Democrats in Congress have additional cause for concern. This scant level of approval could signal that voters are in the mood for change, disproportionately hurting Democratic incumbents.
The last time the yearly average for approval of Congress approached this low a level was in 2006, when the Republicans lost majority control of Congress after 12 years in power. The previous occasion was in 1994, when the Republicans wrested control from the Democrats. In both of these midterm election years, the average congressional approval score was 25%. However, with an 18% approval rating for Congress in 1992, the Democrats succeeded in holding their majority in Congress. That was a presidential year in which the Democratic candidate, Bill Clinton, won.
Bottom Line
The new USA Today/Gallup measurement of generic ballot preferences for Congress casts some doubt on the previously assumed inevitability of the Democrats' maintaining control of Congress.
Until now, the dark shadow cast by George W. Bush's widespread unpopularity has suppressed Republican Party identification nationwide, as well as voters' willingness to support the Republican candidate running for Congress in their district.
Now that the symbolic leadership of the party is shifting away from Bush and toward the suddenly popular Republican presidential ticket of John McCain and Sarah Palin, things may be changing. This shrinks Bush's shadow over the Republicans, revealing more of the Democrats' own shadow stemming from high disapproval of Congress. The key question is how much of this is temporary because of the tremendous bounce in support for the Republicans on many dimensions coming right off of their convention. The degree to which the Republican bounce is sustained, rather than dissipates, in the weeks ahead will determine whether the 2008 race for Congress could in fact be highly competitive, rather than a Democratic sweep.
http://www.gallup.com/poll/110263/Battl … itive.aspx
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Lets post all articles related to Congress in this thread.
Re: Congressional races now competitive
So not only is Obama sinking, but so are democrats in Congress. I agree with that article I posted a few days ago......time for the influential democrats to completely abandon Obama and let him fend for himself so they can attempt to keep(or gain) congressional seats.
A McCain presidency isn't a complete catastrophe for democrats. A McCain presidency with a republican controlled Congress is.
I doubt the republicans can take a majority in Congress. However, the democratic vision for 2008 is to get a filibuster proof majority, and at the current rate, that's just not going to happen.
They're either gonna have to back Obama to the gates of hell and risk losing it all, or veer away from him and hope voters show mercy.
Re: Congressional races now competitive
Either way we need new congress members and fast. They are doing nothing for our country which is heading into a even bigger cluster fuck than it is right now. Citizens still are losing their rights and we are drifting more and more away from the constitution each day. And with Bush passing and signing things on his own without congress and the people of America's knowledge adds even more bullshit and shadyness to DC.
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