Republicans Lead for House
by Scott Rasmussen
Issue 141 - October 14, 2009

Republican congressional candidates have once again expanded their lead over Democrats in the latest edition of the Generic Congressional Ballot.

The new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey shows that 42% would vote for their district’s Republican congressional candidate while 38% would opt for his or her Democratic opponent.

Support for Republicans has risen one point over the past week, while support for Democrats fell two points. Last week, the parties were nearly even following two weeks of seven-point leads for the GOP.

President Obama's speech to Congress two weeks ago may have contributed heavily to last week's surge in Democratic support since it also drove up support for his health care plan and gave his job approval ratings a modest boost.

This past summer, support for Republican candidates ranged from 41% to 44%, while support for Democrats ranged from 36% to 40%. Looking back one year ago, support was strikingly different for the parties. Throughout the summer of 2008, support for Democratic congressional candidates ranged from 45% to 48%. Republican support ranged from 34% to 37%.

Recent polling on the 2010 Senate elections finds incumbent Democrat Michael Bennet trailing Republican challenger Jane Norton 45% to 36% in Colorado. In North Carolina, Republican incumbent Richard Burr holds double-digit leads over three potential Democratic challengers.

The bad news for both parties is that members of Congress have now surpassed corporate CEOs to hold the least favorably regarded profession in the country. Data released today shows that 66% of voters say they’re at least somewhat angry about the current policies of the federal government. That figure includes 36% who are Very Angry.

Scott Rasmussen, president of Rasmussen Reports, has been an independent pollster for more than a decade. Rasmussen Reports is an electronic publishing firm specializing in the collection, publication, and distribution of public opinion polling information.

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