Poll puts Democrats far ahead in Congress (Reuters)

[Up2Late]

Poll puts Democrats far ahead in Congress

Sun Oct 22, 2006 2:21am ET146

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - More than half of Americans, 55 percent, would like to see Democrats take control of Congress, according to a poll by Newsweek magazine released on Saturday.

The poll of 1,000 likely voters found that 55 percent would choose a Democrat to represent their district if the vote were held now, and 37 percent said they would vote Republican.

This includes 31 percent of white evangelical Christians, an increase of 6 points among that strongly Republican group over the 2004 elections. "Similarly, Democrats now lead among white Catholics, a group that went for President George W. Bush in the 2004 presidential election," Newsweek said in a statement.

The poll, which had a margin of error of 4 percentage points, found that 44 percent of white Catholics planned to vote Democrat and 42 percent planned to vote Republican.

(more at link) <http://today.reuters.com/news/articlenews.aspx?type=domesticNews&storyID=2006-10-22T062102Z_01_N21283905_RTRUKOC_0_US-POLL.xml&WTmodLoc=USNewsHome_C1_%5bFeed%5d-2>

[Up2Late]

1. kick n/t

:kick:

[samsingh]

2. kick - very good news

[Seedersandleechers]

3. I agree this is good news but

how many voters are going to be purged? How many votes are not going to get counted? How many times will the votes be flipped?

[Up2Late]

4. I know, I feel the same way, but...

...we might as well enjoy the few bits of good news we get these day and try not to worry about the things we have no power to control. But that's not to say we shouldn't try, just don't get discouraged by it.

[Jeff In Milwaukee]

5. This is particularly good news...

Because people often "hate Congress but love their Congressman." So the generic Republican/Democratic question (who should control Congress) can sometimes be misleading. A voter might actually say, "I think the Democrats should control Congress, but my guy (Republican) is OK so I'm going to vote for him."

This poll actually should a majority would vote to dump their own Congressman. That's really good news.

[JoFerret]

6. How many seats does this (potentially) mean?

That is the question

[Up2Late]

8. Last time I heard, it was more than 45, but that was...

...a few weeks ago, it could be more now.

[bemildred]

7. Independent Voters Favor Democrats by 2 to 1 in Poll

Two weeks before the midterm elections, Republicans are losing the battle for independent voters, who now strongly favor Democrats on Iraq and other major issues facing the country and overwhelmingly prefer to see them take over the House in November, according to a new Washington Post-ABC News poll.

The new poll underscores how much of a drag the war threatens to be on Republican candidates in competitive races. With debate underway in Washington about possible course changes in Iraq, Americans cite the war as the most important issue in determining their vote next month more often than any other issue, and those who do favor Democrats over Republicans by 76 percent to 21 percent.

Independents are poised to play a pivotal role in next month's elections because Democrats and Republicans are basically united behind candidates of their own parties. Ninety-five percent of Democrats said they will support Democratic candidates for the House, while slightly fewer Republicans, 88 percent, said they plan to vote for their party's candidates.

The independent voters surveyed said they plan to support Democratic candidates over Republicans by roughly 2 to 1 -- 59 percent to 31 percent -- the largest margin in any Post-ABC News poll this year. Forty-five percent said it would be good if Democrats recaptured the House majority, while 10 percent said it would not be. The rest said it would not matter.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/10/23/AR2006102300766.html?nav=rss_politics/elections