The latest national survey by Democracy Corps and Women’s Voices. Women Vote Action Fund shows that Republicans are paying a big price with the public and are now bleeding seriously in their congressional vote. Up until now, they have had peaks of voter disapproval, but this spike is the highest. This is the first time we have seen voters’ disapproval really translate into the vote — a named ballot where we identify incumbents by name, not a generic vote.
- Americans are not buying Republicans’ shutdown politics, and Republicans are likely to pay the price. For the first time we asked voters who they prefer to control Congress after the 2014 elections, and by 4 points likely voters say Democrats. And when asked if shutting down the government over defunding Obamacare will make them more or less likely to vote for their named Republican incumbents, nearly half (47 percent) of 2014 likely voters say less likely, with over one-third (35 percent) saying much less likely.
- The Republican Party brand has continued to fall since July, with fully half of voters now viewing the party negatively. Importantly, the party’s strong negatives have grown 8 points since July, and now more than a third (36 percent) say they are strongly unfavorable to the Republican Party. The Democratic Party, meanwhile, has maintained their standing from July, even showing an increase in those who are strongly favorable to the party (21 percent strongly favorable, compared to 18 percent in July).
- Republicans in Congress are now at one of the lowest points we have ever recorded, with 51 percent viewing them negatively — a 5-point increase since March. Voters remain disdainful of how they are handling their job in charge of Congress, with over two-thirds (69 percent) saying they disapprove; furthermore almost half (48 percent) now strongly disapprove, an increase of 6 points since July.
- Democrats in Congress now have an 8-point lead in favorability over their Republican colleagues, with 37 percent of voters viewing Democrats in Congress positively, compared to 29 percent viewing Republicans in Congress favorably.
- John Boehner has also suffered from the shutdown. Half of voters are giving him negative ratings, making him the most negatively viewed politician in the country.
