- Many American voters voice a preference for the Democratic Party in this year’s congressional election, according to a poll by Bloomberg and the Los Angeles Times. 49 per cent of respondents would like the Democratic contender to win in their district, while 35 per cent would prefer a Republican victory.
- Many American voters voice a preference for the Democratic Party in this year’s congressional election, according to a poll by Bloomberg and the Los Angeles Times. 49 per cent of respondents would like the Democratic contender to win in their district, while 35 per cent would prefer a Republican victory.
Ten per cent of respondents are undecided. In addition, 54 per cent of respondents would like the Democrats to take control of Congress, up four points since April.
In the November 2004 congressional ballot, the Republican Party elected 232 lawmakers to the House of Representatives, while the Democratic Party secured 202 seats. The Republicans also have a majority in the Senate, with 55 members in the 100-seat upper house.
On Jun. 29, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the American government should not be allowed to use military tribunals to try any of the detainees currently held at the Guantanamo Bay facility. The 5-3 decision in the Salim Ahmed Hamdan v. Donald Rumsfeld case is expected to compel the U.S. government to transfer the Guantanamo cases to federal courts.
On Jul. 2, Democratic California senator Dianne Feinstein discussed the situation, saying, “The Court’s opinion was a very major opinion, and basically what it said was that the president exceeded his authority. It’s pretty clear to me that the Congress has to act and should act.”
Republican Arizona senator John McCain declared, “We’re going to have hearings, we’re going to examine the court decision very carefully. I am confident that we can make sure that bad guys (…) are not released, and those that deserve to be released will be.”
American voters will renew the House of Representatives and one-third of the Senate on Nov. 7.
Polling Data
If the election for Congress was being held today, which party would you like to see win in your congressional district: the Democratic Party or the Republican Party?
Democratic Party | 49% |
Republican Party | 35% |
Other party | 1% |
Neither | 5% |
Don’t know | 10% |
As you may know, this November all seats of the U.S. House of Representatives and a third of the seats in the United States Senate are up for election. After the election in November, would you like to see the Democrats take control of Congress, or would you like to see the Republicans continue to be in control of Congress?
Jun. 2006 | Apr. 2006 | |
Democrats in control | 54% | 50% |
Republicans in control | 34% | 37% |
Each party with one house | 4% | 2% |
Don’t know | 8% | 11% |
Source: Bloomberg / Los Angeles Times
Methodology: Telephone interviews with 1,321 American adults, conducted from Jun. 24 to Jun. 27, 2006. Margin of error is 3 per cent.
