News & Politics - Most Americans plan to vote for Democrats

Lexis · 07-14-2006, 04:47 AM

Quote:

WASHINGTON - Republicans are in jeopardy of losing their grip on Congress in November. With less than four months to the midterm elections, the latest Associated Press-Ipsos poll found that Americans by an almost 3-to-1 margin hold the GOP-controlled Congress in low regard and profess a desire to see Democrats wrest control after a dozen years of Republican rule.

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Further complicating the GOP outlook to turn things around is a solid percentage of liberals, moderates and even conservatives who say they'll vote Democratic. The party out of power also holds the edge among persuadable voters, a prospect that doesn't bode well for the Republicans.

The election ultimately will be decided in 435 House districts and 33 Senate contests, in which incumbents typically hold the upper hand. But the survey underscored the difficulty Republicans face in trying to persuade a skeptical public to return them to Washington.

The AP-Ipsos poll of 1,000 adults conducted Monday through Wednesday found that President Bush has stopped his political freefall, with his approval rating of 36 percent basically unchanged from last month. Bush received slightly higher marks for his handling of the Iraq war and the fight against terrorism, weeks after his surprise trip to Baghdad and the killing of Iraqi terrorist Abu Musab al-Zarqawi in a U.S. airstrike last month.

But a Democratic takeover of either the House or Senate would be disastrous for the president, leaving both his agenda for the last two years in office and the chairmanship of investigative committees in the hands of the opposition party. To seize control of Congress, the Democrats must displace 15 Republicans from House seats and six Republicans from the Senate.

The AP-Ipsos survey asked 789 registered voters if the election for the House were held today, would they vote for the Democratic or Republican candidate in their district. Democrats were favored 51 percent to 40 percent.

Not surprisingly, 81 percent of self-described liberals said they would vote for the Democrat. Among moderates, though, 56 percent backed a Democrat in their district and almost a quarter of conservatives — 24 percent — said they will vote Democratic.

Democrats also held the advantage among persuadable voters — those who are undecided or wouldn't say whom they prefer. A total of 51 percent said they were leaning Democrat, while 41 percent were leaning Republican.

Most Americans plan to vote for Democrats - Yahoo! News

This is interesting. There seem to be lots of interesting liberal candidates this time round.

Ms Carolyn · 07-14-2006, 06:02 AM

I think what may tip the balance are the interesting moderate candidates. The Republicans have played so heavily to their far right conservative base that they seem to have forgotten that most Americans are somewhere in the middle, or even fairly apolitical. People are concerned about jobs, they're concerned about the cost of living, and they're concerned about security. All of these things have taken a decided dip in the past few years, and people take out their frustration at the polls.

I just hope that the Democrats don't get giddy with excitement and start taking things for granted.

The thing is, the Democratic Party under Howard Dean has developed a powerful grass roots presences in places where they used to just not bother -- which is so important in Congressional races, especially for House seats. I think it's going to be an interesting election -- I'm going to be a Judge of Elections again and I'm looking forward to seeing the turnout, and who comes in to vote for the first time.

**TheAngel** · 07-14-2006, 06:12 AM

I'm voting Republican for House representative in my district because I like the way that this man has done things in the house, other than that, I don't know because I don't know most of the candidates. Local elections around here are horrible, most people vote for their friends and don't even know the positions that people take. You never read about them in local papers or see them on News shows. I know our mayor's an idiot and that's about it. But I strongly believe in voting for the candidate instead of the party.

Ms Carolyn · 07-14-2006, 06:22 AM

Our mayor is an idiot, too! But alas, I don't think he's up for reelection until 2008.

I also believe in voting for the candidate, and have voted for the occasional Republican in local elections. But right now I have to admit to seeing the entire Republican Party through Bush-colored glasses, and it ain't pretty.

RugarTheGreat · 07-15-2006, 02:38 AM

I'll probably vote for more Democrats than Republicans this up coming election. It all depends on the issues and their stances...I like some Republicans and I like some Democrats. I find it kinda hard to side with Republicans all the time or Democrats all the time. Like someone said above, most Americans are moderate or maybe they lean Republican in, say, foreign affairs, but lean Democrat when it comes to health care. And that's why I registered as an Independent...

TokyoNiGHTS · 07-15-2006, 04:25 AM

I'll believe it when I see it, I remember several polls around the presidential election said they'd be voting Democrat and then Bush ended up get re elected.

86amanda86 · 07-16-2006, 05:48 PM

I don't buy it.

blue4815162342 · 07-20-2006, 06:33 PM

i think that there are still going to be rebublicans, but the upcoming voters are going to be mostly demicrats.

Ms. Fiction · 07-21-2006, 03:12 AM

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Originally Posted by 86amanda86

I don't buy it.

Same.

alli balli · 07-22-2006, 12:07 PM

I can believe that the country as a whole may be saying "We want more Democrats in Congress," but when it comes down to individual elections people may favor the Republicans. Who knows. I do know that the Democratic Senate candidate in PA, Bob Casey, is beating Rick Santorum so far!

I don't love Casey because he isn't really pro-choice, but ANYONE is better than that scumbag Santorum.

RugarTheGreat · 07-22-2006, 03:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by alli balli

Rick Santorum.

Isn't that the dude who's last name was made fun of by the writer for the column called "Savage Love"?


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