Approval Ratings Worse Than '94
Dems are loathe to accept the comparison, and GOPers are giddy at their similar prospects, but in one important respect the '10 midterms are different from the '94 contests: Incumbents are actually less popular.
A new Washington Post/ABC News survey shows just 49% of voters approve of the job their member of Congress is doing. That's 10 points below the same poll's numbers in Oct. '06, just 2 weeks before Dems retook control of Congress; and it's 2 points lower than the rating voters gave their incumbents just days before the '94 midterms, when the GOP took over.
The dismal approval ratings have voters looking around for new representation. Just 29% of voters said they are inclined to keep their members of Congress, while 60% want to look around for someone new. It's the first time in the survey's history that so many voters are considering electing new members of Congress.
Dems still hold an advantage on generic ballot tests; 47% of registered voters say they would vote Dem, while 44% say they would vote for a GOPer. And voters say they trust Dems more than GOPers, by a 44%-32% margin, to do a better job coping with the issues the nation faces.
But Dems held much greater advantages, well into the double-digits, when they took control of Congress in '06 and expanded their majority in '08, suggesting the party will lose a significant number of seats in Nov. Traditionally, Dems have held an advantage on the generic ballot.
Voter dissatisfaction comes amid stagnant hopes for an economic recovery. An equal number -- 30% -- think the economy is getting better and getting worse, while 39% say the economy remains the same. Fully 88% of voters have a negative view of the economy overall, and just 30% think the stimulus package helped improve the situation. 2 in 10 voters say the package hurt recovery efforts, while nearly 50% said it has made no difference.
Meanwhile, it's not just incumbents who are viewed as unpopular. The poll also shows support for the Tea Party movement is dropping, and a majority of voters now have unfavorable views of the libertarian-leaning movement. Just 36% see the Tea Party favorably, while fully 50% say they have an unfavorable impression of Tea Partiers.
That's a significant jump, of 11 points, in voters' unfavorable mood, since a poll conducted in late March. The rise comes after months of orchestrated efforts by Dems to paint the Tea Party as out of touch with mainstream America.
The survey, conducted June 3-6, polled 1,004 adults for a margin of error of +/- 3%. The poll tested 888 registered voters for a margin of error of +/- 3.3%.