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Democrats Have Early Lead in Congress Ballot
(Angus Reid Global Monitor) - Many voters in the United States would support the Democratic Party in the 2008 election to the U.S. Congress, according to a poll by Rasmussen Reports. 45 per cent of respondents would vote for the Democrats, while 35 per cent would back the Republican Party.
American voters renewed the House of Representatives and one-third of the Senate in November 2006. On Jan. 4, the Democratic Party took control of the lower house for the first time since 1994, with 233 lawmakers. A victory for the Democratic candidates for the Senate in Montana and Virginia also gave the party a majority in the upper house. 68 per cent of respondents think the Democrats are likely to retain control of Congress in 2008.
Democratic California congresswoman Nancy Pelosi became the first female speaker of the House. On Apr. 3, Pelosi visited Syria and met with Syrian president Bashar Assad.
On Apr. 13, U.S. vice-president Dick Cheney criticized Pelosi, saying, "It didn't help matters when (Pelosi) showed up in Damascus for a sit-down with Syrian president Bashar Assad. Here again, we have an instance of the new congressional leadership making a bad move and sending mixed signals about the policies and the intentions of the United States."
Polling Data
Generic Congressional Ballot
Democratic Party | 45% |
Republican Party | 35% |
Third Party | 6% |
Not sure | 15% |
Who likely is it that Democrats will retain control of Congress in 2008?
Very likely | 41% |
Somewhat likely | 27% |
Not very likely | 16% |
Not likely at all | 5% |
Source: Rasmussen Reports
Methodology: Telephone interviews with 800 likely American voters, conducted on Apr. 9 and Apr. 10, 2007. Margin of error is 4 per cent.