Rasmussen Week in Review

Rasmussen Reports…

What They Told Us: Reviewing Last Week’s Key Polls

Saturday, October 23, 2010

What a difference four years make.

Just before the November 2006 midterm elections, 47% of Likely Voters hoped their vote would keep control of the U.S. Senate in the hands of the Democrats. Now, 51% say they'd like Republicans to be in charge of the Senate. 

But then most 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 are considered among the major achievements of Democrats in the House and Senate since few Republicans voted for any of them. 

Those votes appear to be driving factors in the GOP’s consistent lead over Democrats on the Generic Congressional Ballot. Republican candidates held a nine-point lead on the ballot for the week ending Sunday, October 17, meaning that 48% of the respondents would vote for their district’s Republican congressional candidate, while 39% would opt for his or her Democratic opponent.

After all, most voters continue to favor repeal of the national health care law. Since Democrats in Congress passed the law in late March, support for repeal has ranged from a low of 53% to a high of 63%

Nearly-two-out-of-three voters (65%) continue to prefer a government with fewer services and lower taxes rather than one with more services and higher taxes. Most Americans think the federal government already has too much money and doesn't spend it well. 

Meanwhile, unemployment remains near 10%, and the Rasmussen Consumer and Investor Indexes, despite some recent gains, are still just returning to the levels they were at at the start of the year. 

With less than 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. 

So how does all this play out across the nation?

As of Friday, the Rasmussen Reports Election 2010 Senate Balance of Power rankings suggest that the Democrats would hold 48 seats after Election Day while the Republicans would hold 46. Six states are in the Toss-Up category (California, Colorado, Illinois, Nevada, Pennsylvania, and Washington). All six Toss-Ups are seats currently held by Democrats.

For the full article…

http://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/politics/weekly_updates/what_they_told_us_reviewing_last_week_s_key_polls