(Angus Reid Global Monitor) – Almost half of adults in the United States would prefer to have the executive and legislative branches in the hands of different parties, according to a poll by Rasmussen Reports. 45 per cent of respondents think it is better for the country to have separate political parties running both the White House and Congress.
(Angus Reid Global Monitor) – Almost half of adults in the United States would prefer to have the executive and legislative branches in the hands of different parties, according to a poll by Rasmussen Reports. 45 per cent of respondents think it is better for the country to have separate political parties running both the White House and Congress.
Conversely, 27 per cent of respondents would prefer to have a single political party running both the White House and Congress.
American voters renewed the House of Representatives and one-third of the Senate in November 2006. In January 2007, the Democratic Party took control of the lower house for the first time since 1994, with 233 lawmakers. Democratic California congresswoman Nancy Pelosi became the first female speaker of the House.
In American elections, candidates require 270 votes in the Electoral College to win the White House. In November 2008, Democratic nominee Barack Obama secured a majority of electoral votes, defeating Republican candidate John McCain. Obama became the first African American president in U.S. history when he took over from Republican George W. Bush—who served two four-year terms—in January 2009.
A new congressional election also took place in November 2008. The Democrats received 53.04 per cent of the vote and secured 257 seats in the lower house, while the Republicans got 44.16 per cent of the vote and won 178 seats.
On Jun. 30, Democrat Al Franken was certified as the winner of the 2008 Senate race in Minnesota. With Franken, the Democrats—with the support of independent senators Joe Lieberman in Connecticut and Bernard Sanders in Vermont—control 60 of the upper house’s 100 seats, enough to overcome filibusters.
Franken declared: "I can’t wait to get started. I’ve been trying to keep abreast of what’s going on, and I’ll do the best I can"
Polling Data
Which is better for the country? One political party running both the White House and Congress or each being run by a different political party?
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The White House and Congress each being run by a different political party
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45%
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One political party running both the White House and Congress
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27%
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Not sure
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28%
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Source: Rasmussen Reports
Methodology: Telephone interviews with 1,000 American likely voters, conducted on Jul. 1, 2009. Margin of error is 3 per cent.
