51% Want Their Vote To Put GOP In Charge of House, SenateThe identical numbers hold true when voters are asked which party they would like to see controlling the House of Representatives if their vote was the determining factor: 51% say the Republicans; 42% say the Democrats.
Over 90% of GOP voters want to see their party regain control of the House and Senate, as do 12% of Democrats. Just over 80% of Democratic voters want their party to be in charge of both houses of Congress. Voters not affiliated with either party want to see Republicans in control of the Senate by a 50% to 35% margin and the House by a similar 52% to 36% margin.
There appears to be more intensity in this election cycle, too. Eighty-nine percent (89%) of voters now say in terms of its impact on their own lives, it is at least somewhat important which party controls Congress after next month's election. That includes 66% who say it is Very Important, 17 points higher than the finding four years ago. Only eight percent (8%) say it is not very or not at all important which party is in charge.
This survey of 1,000 Likely U.S. Voters was conducted October 20-21, 2010 by Rasmussen Reports. The margin of sampling error is +/- 3 percentage points with a 95% level of confidence. Field work for all Rasmussen Reports surveys is conducted by Pulse Opinion Research, LLC . See methodology .
Voters now also put a lot more importance on controlling Congress. Fifty-one percent (51%) say they would rather have their party control Congress than the White House. Thirty-one percent (31%) would rather have their party in charge of the White House instead. Seventeen percent (17%) are not sure. In November 2006, voters were evenly divided on this question.
These findings come just after a survey earlier this week that shows most Likely Voters think their representative in Congress does not deserve reelection if he or she voted for the national health care law, the auto bailouts or the $787-billion economic stimulus plan . All those measures were championed by congressional Democrats with little or no Republican support.
Republican candidates currently hold a nine-point lead on the Generic Congressional Ballot . That means 48% would vote for their district's Republican congressional candidate, while 39% would opt for his or her Democratic opponent.
Nearly half (49%) of all voters agree that despite good intentions most major legislation passed by Congress does more harm than good. That's a 19-point jump from November 2006. Thirty-five percent (35%) disagree, and 17% are undecided.
Sixty-six percent (66%) of Republicans and 53% of unaffiliated voters think most congressional legislation does more harm than good. Fifty-five percent (55%) of Democrats don't believe that to be true.
Sixty-two percent (62%) of all voters believe that no matter how bad things are, Congress can always make them worse .
As is generally the case, there's a sharp divide between the Political Class and Mainstream voters . While roughly 70% of those in the Mainstream want to see the GOP in charge of the House and Senate, around 90% of the Political Class prefer Democratic control.
Sixty-one percent (61%) of the Political Class would rather have their political party in the White House, but 57% of Mainstream voters would rather have their party control Congress. Seventy percent (70%) of Mainstream voters think most legislation passed by Congress does more harm than good. Eighty-four percent (84%) of those in the Political Class disagree.
Sixty-two percent (62%) of all voters think it would be better for the country if most congressional incumbents are defeated this November . Just 27% think their representative in Congress is the best possible person for the job, and only 37% think their local congressional representative deserves reelection.
Most voters believe the Democratic congressional agenda is extreme, while a plurality describe the Republican agenda as mainstream .
Most also think it is at least somewhat likely that Republicans will win control of both houses of Congress in the upcoming elections, and nearly half say there will a noticeable change in the lives of Americans if this happens .
With two weeks to go until Election Day, voters trust Republicans more than Democrats on eight out of 10 important issues regularly tracked by Rasmussen Reports including the economy and health care.