Democrats for Small Government?
by John McLaughlin

It appears that the Republicans have lost their advantage on the philosophical issue of the size of government. Among the people who voted in this past election, 59% favor a smaller government with fewer services, and only 28% favor a larger government with many services. Among those who voted for a Republican for Congress, they favor smaller government by a 5-to-1 margin. However, the plurality of voters who voted Democratic also supports smaller government. In the past, these voters wouldn’t consider the Democratic Party an option.

Since the majority of voters voted Democrat and almost half of these Democratic voters prefer smaller government, it's crystal clear that the Republican Party has lost their foundational message. They may have lost the middle, but it's a modest middle that wants smaller government.

The battleground for the 110th Congress will be among the independent and dissatisfied voters that had such an impact on the 2006 elections. Majorities of independent voters (68%) and those who think the country is on the wrong track (52%) favor smaller government. It will be up to the new Democratic leadership to show if they can back the centrist talk with centrist action. On the other hand, the Republican leadership must rediscover its core principles and remind voters which party will give them smaller government.

"In general, would you say you most favor a smaller government with fewer services, or a larger government with many services?"

(Percentages shown in the format "Smaller gov't / Larger gov't / Don't Know or Refused")

Total 59/28/13

Vote GOP 76/12/12

Vote Dem 45/40/14

Right Direction 72/16/12

Wrong Track 52/35/14

Republican 74/13/13

Democrat 41/45/14

Independent 68/20/12

Methodology

McLaughlin & Associates conducted this national poll of 1000 respondents who voted in the 2006 midterm election. This universe includes both voters who cast their ballots yesterday, and those who took advantage of early voting periods where applicable. The poll took place on the evening of November 7, 2006. All interviews were conducted via telephone by professional interviewers. Interview selection was random within predetermined election units – in this case, the fifty states. These units were structured to correlate with actual voter turnout in this general election. The margin of error is +/- 3.1% at a 95% confidence interval.

Sample Demographics

Party -- Republican 39%, Democrat 42%, Independent 16%

Race – 82% White, 9% Black, 7% Hispanic

Gender -- Male 49%, Female 51%

John McLaughlin is president of McLaughlin & Associates