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Hope and Change has struck the Democratic Party in a big — and unexpected — way. Gallup analyzes its poll data from 2010 on party affiliation to look at the shift in each state, and the news is almost uniformly bad for Democrats. Almost every state has had a decrease in voter affiliation for Democrats, most of those significant, and the number of solidly-blue states has been cut in half: Gallup’s analysis of party affiliation in the U.S. states shows a marked decline in the number of solidly Democratic states from 2008 (30) to 2010 (14). The number of politically...

President Barack Obama and congressional Democrats learned at least one big lesson in the November elections: What the independent voter gives, the independent voter can also take away. But now, the same temperamental bloc that threw House Democrats out of power appear to be in a giving mood again - at least as far as Obama is concerned. That unpredictable, cranky group of voters who helped carry the president into office two years ago before turning against him in dramatic fashion, may be turning back in Obama’s direction even more quickly. A series of national polls released over the last...

Just minutes after shots rang out in Tucson two Saturdays ago, liberal "journalists" began to tie former VP candidate Sarah Palin to the shooting, in the complete absence of facts. After it was learned that the shooter, Jared Loughner, was most likely liberal and did not listen to Sarah Palin at all, left-wing pundits still continued to blame Palin. Unfortunately, it worked to a large degree. A poll released yesterday found that 35% of Americans believe that Palin is at least partially to blame for the shooting. 35% of Americans bought into the lie. 35% of Americans must be morons....

Occasionally, political pundits get so wrapped up in their analysis that they don’t think through all of the implications of their commentary. That happened to Mark Penn, longtime Democratic pollster, in his appearance on Hardball last night, in the most charitable explanation possible. Eyeblast’s Joe Schoffstall clips this magic moment from the discussion with Chris Matthews on how disconnected Barack Obama has become from the American electorate, and what it will take for him to reconnect, using Bill Clinton as an example:(video of Chris Matthews show) President Clinton reconnected with Oklahoma. And the President right now he seems removed. And...

Generic Congressional Ballot Generic Congressional Ballot: Republicans 47%, Democrats 36% Monday, January 10, 2011 Email to a Friend AdvertisementRepublicans hold an 11-point lead over Democrats on the Generic Congressional Ballot for the week ending January 9, 2011. That’s up one point from last week and six points from the week before. It's the widest gap between the two parties since right before Election Day. New Rasmussen Reports telephone polling finds that 47% of Likely U.S. Voters nationwide say they would vote for their district’s Republican congressional candidate, while 36% would choose the Democrat instead. Last week, Republicans posted a similar...

Nearly six in 10 Americans say the country's heated political rhetoric is not to blame for the Tucson shooting rampage that left six dead and critically wounded U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, according to a CBS News poll. In the wake of the shooting, much focus has been put on the harsh tone of politics in Washington and around the country, particularly after a contentious midterm election. Rhetoric and imagery from both Republicans and Democrats have included gun-related metaphors, but the majority of the country isn't connecting the shooting to politics.

Every year, researchers from the British Social Attitudes survey ask a representative sample of British people whether they regard themselves as belonging to any particular religion and, if so, to which one? When the survey first asked these questions in 1985, 63% of the respondents answered that they were Christians, compared with 34% who said they had no religion (the rest belonged to non-Christian religions).Today, a quarter of a century on, there has been a steady and remarkable turnaround. In the latest 2010 BSA report, published earlier this month, only 42% said they were Christians while 51% now say they...

If you're in a room of 100 people, odds are likely about 40 think God created humans about 10,000 years ago, part of a philosophy called creationism, according to a Gallup poll reported Friday (Dec. 17). That number is slightly lower than in years past and down from a high of 47 percent in both 1993 and 1999. And 38 percent of Americans, the poll estimates, believe God guided the process that brought humans from "cavemen" to today's incarnation over millions of years, while 16 percent think humans evolved over millions of years, without any divine intervention. This secular view,...

A fresh Gallup Poll released this morning reveals that somehow 13% of Americans still approve of the job being done by Congress. The new Gallup survey did not identify those people, understandably. However, even though it is a surprisingly high number given the work not done there in recent years, the 13% is a record low job approval for Congress since Gallup began compiling such data in 1974. The same Dec. 10-12 survey finds a record high 83% of Americans disapprove of the job being done by the folks on Capitol Hill, also the worst

Republicans may have made major gains in the November elections, but they have yet to win the hearts and minds of the American people, according to a new Washington Post-ABC News poll.

According to opinion polls (mainly Public Policy Polling) the race is divided between three main candidates: former Governor Mitt Romney (leading in eleven states), former Governor Mike Huckabee (leading in nine states), and former Governor Sarah Palin (leading in seven states). The most fascinating result is that Mike Huckabee is leading in Sarah Palin's Alaska. Three other candidacies are limited in their appeal to certain regions: Newt Gingrich (leading in two states), Tim Pawlenty (leading in one state), and Senator DeMint (leading in one state). Three of the four states are their own, and nineteen states have not even been...

Last week’s reversal on offshore oil drilling by Barack Obama didn’t go over well with likely US voters, according to a new Rasmussen survey. Sixty percent support offshore drilling in principle, and 48% oppose the ban directly, with only 35% supporting Obama’s reversal. A majority expect economic damage and higher fuel prices as a result: A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that 54% of Likely U.S. Voters believe the new seven-year ban will increase gas prices, while just 11% think it will make gas prices go down. Twenty-five percent (25%) expect the ban to have no impact on...

Bush job approval rating higher than Obama's By: James Hohmann December 6, 2010 01:46 PM EST George W. Bush’s job approval rating as president has spiked to 47 percent, according to a Gallup poll released Monday. That’s one point higher than President Barack Obama’s job approval rating in a poll taken the same week. This is the first time Gallup asked Americans to retrospectively rate Bush’s job performance. And it was a stunning turnaround from his low point of 25 percent in November 2008. The 47 percent number is 13 points higher than the last Gallup poll taken before Bush...

The Rasmussen Reports daily Presidential Tracking Poll for Saturday shows that 22% of the nation's voters Strongly Approve of the way that Barack Obama is performing his role as president. Forty-one percent (41%) Strongly Disapprove, giving Obama a Presidential Approval Index rating of -19...Overall, 43% of voters say they at least somewhat approve of the president's performance. Fifty-six percent (56%) disapprove.

A Public Policy Polling survey of 400 "typical" Republican primary voters found: 2012 President: 21% Palin 19% Gingrich 18% Romney 16% Huckabee 5% Paul 5% Pawlenty 3% Thune The margin of error was 4.9 percent.

A new poll taken for the occasion of the 400th anniversary of the King James Bible reveals that a majority of those under 35 in the United Kingdom don't even know about the work, which has been described as a significant part of the estimated 100 million Bible sales annually, making it the best best-seller, ever. "Yet this is a work which was far more influential than Shakespeare in the development and spread of English," a spokesman for the King James Bible Trust told the Christian Institute in a recent report. The Christian Institute's report said the translation, which will...

McClatchy/Marists poll also says 56% of Democrat-leaning independents want a primary challenge for Obama WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama emerges from a bruising midterm election with uncertain prospects for the next one in 2012, according to a new McClatchy-Marist poll. Nearly half of his own base — 45 percent of Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents — want someone to challenge him for the Democratic nomination, according to the poll.

Fewer than 3 in 10 support law banning handguns except for police and authorized personnel PRINCETON, NJ -- For the second year in a row, a record-low 44% of Americans say laws governing the sale of firearms should be made more strict, while 42% say gun laws should be kept as they are now. Twelve percent say gun laws should be made less strict. Americans' support for stricter gun control laws has gradually declined over the last two decades, from 78% when this question was first asked in 1990 to 49% in 2008, and 44% in 2009 and again this...

Zogby Interactive: Obama Falls to 39%, As Support from Democrats Continues to Slide; He Trails Romney, J. Bush & Gingrich in '12 Those Saying U.S. on Wrong Track Hits High Under Obama of 69% UTICA, New York - President Barack Obama's job approval rating has dropped to the lowest point of his Presidency at 39%, and in potential match-ups with Republicans in 2012, he trails Mitt Romney, Jeb Bush and Newt Gingrich and is just one point ahead of Sarah Palin. The percentage of likely voters saying the U.S. is on the wrong track is now the highest since Obama...

Turns out voters were not simply satisfied to spank the Democratic president and his party in the Nov. 2 midterm elections with historic losses in the House of Representatives. Obama’s job approval rating as calculated by the latest Zogby Poll has now dropped to 39%, a new low for his 22-month presidency that began with so much hope, excitement and poll numbers up around 70. As recently as Sept. 20, his job approval was 49%. A whopping 60% now disapprove of Barack Obama’s job, up from 51% disapproval on Sept. 20.

Voters are clearly dubious about the size and scope of today’s federal government. A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that just 39% of Likely U.S. Voters believe the federal government currently operates within the limits established by the Constitution of the United States. Forty-four percent (44%) disagree and say it is not functioning within those limits, while another 17% aren’t sure. (To see survey question wording, click here.) Earlier surveys have shown that just one-in-five voters believe that the government today has the consent of the governed. Forty-eight percent (48%) see the government as a threat to individual...

They’re the leading contenders for now for the Republican presidential nomination in 2012, and, perhaps not surprisingly, they’re the best liked of 14 top party players among likely GOP primary voters. A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey of those voters finds that 82% have a favorable opinion of former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin, the party’s vice presidential nominee in 2008, while just 17% view her unfavorably. That includes 50% with a Very Favorable opinion and eight percent (8%) with a Very Unfavorable one. (To see survey questions wording, click here)

President Obama's Democratic party lost the midterm elections this week and he could very well lose his bid for a second term in 2012, according to a shocking poll released today. Obama would lose in a hypothetical race against former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee 52 percent to 44 percent, according to CNN/Opinion Research Corp. survey. Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney would also defeat Obama 50 percent to 45 percent in the race for the White House in 2012.

Washington (CNN) -- His party got its clock cleaned in Tuesday's midterm elections, but President Barack Obama still remains competitive in some hypothetical 2012 presidential election matchups, especially against Sarah Palin, a new poll shows. A CNN/Opinion Research Corp. survey released Thursday also indicates that at the unofficial start of the race for the Republican presidential nomination, the field of possible contenders appears wide open with no front-runner. Twenty-one percent of Republicans say they would most likely support 2008 GOP White House candidate and former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee for their party's 2012 presidential nomination, according to the poll. The...

Hold the celebration. Most voters expected Republicans to win control of the House of Representatives on Election Day, but nearly as many expect to be disappointed with how they perform by the time the 2012 elections roll around. A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds, in fact, that 59% of Likely U.S. Voters think it is at least somewhat likely that most voters will be disappointed with Republicans in Congress before the next national elections. That includes 38% who say it is Very Likely.

Most people who voted in Election 2010 on the East Coast think the average Democrat in Congress is more liberal than they are and describe the views of most congressional Democrats as extreme. These results come from a Rasmussen Reports telephone polling of people who have already voted in states in the Eastern Time Zone. Fifty-eight percent (58%) of these voters say the average Democrat in Congress is more liberal than they are. Only 10% say that member of Congress is more conservative, while 27% see his or her views as about the same as theirs. Fifty-five percent (55%) say...

Most voters say today’s election is a referendum on President Obama’s agenda and that he should change course if Republicans win control of the House. But most also don’t expect him to make that change. A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that 52% of Likely U.S. Voters believe this election is more a referendum on the president’s agenda than about individual candidates and issues. Thirty-eight percent (38%) disagree and say the candidates and issues are paramount. (To see survey question wording, click here.) Only 40% of voters think the president should continue to pursue the same agenda if...

Two days before the midterm elections, a new national poll indicates that Republicans have a 10-point lead over the Democrats in a crucial indicator in the battle for control of Congress. The GOP's 10 point advantage in the "generic ballot" question in a CNN/Opinion Research Corporation national survey released Sunday is slightly larger than the seven point advantage Republican candidates had on the eve of the 1994 midterms, when the party last took control of Congress from the Democrats. "But unlike 1994, when polls indicated the public had a positive view of the Republican party, a majority of Americans now...

GOP Likely to Recapture Control of House Pew Research Center’s final 2010 pre-election survey finds the Republican Party continuing to hold a solid lead in preferences for Tuesday’s midterm election. The poll, conducted Oct. 27-30 among 2,373 registered voters, including 1,809 voters considered the most likely to vote, shows that 48% of likely voters say they will vote for the Republican in their district, compared with 42% who favor the Democratic candidate. These results suggest little trend in voter opinion nationwide and they track results of a Pew Research Center poll conducted two weeks ago. That survey found the GOP...

PRINCETON, NJ -- The final USA Today/Gallup measure of Americans' voting intentions for Congress shows Republicans continuing to hold a substantial lead over Democrats among likely voters, a lead large enough to suggest that regardless of turnout, the Republicans will win more than the 40 seats needed to give them the majority in the U.S. House. The results are from Gallup's Oct. 28-31 survey of 1,539 likely voters. It finds 52% to 55% of likely voters preferring the Republican candidate and 40% to 42% for the Democratic candidate on the national generic ballot -- depending on turnout assumptions. Gallup's analysis...

Republican candidate Dan Maes now has just single-digit support, but Democrat John Hickenlooper still holds a slight lead over independent candidate Tom Tancredo in Colorado’s race for governor. The latest Rasmussen Reports telephone survey of Likely Voters in the state shows Hickenlooper with a 47% to 42% lead over Tancredo, a former GOP congressman now running as the candidate of the American Constitution Party. Maes trails with five percent (5%) support. Six percent (6%) like some other candidate in the race, and one percent (1%) is undecided. (To see survey question wording, click here.) This is the best showing yet...

His favorable rating and re-elect figures are also at new lows PRINCETON, NJ -- Barack Obama averaged 44.7% job approval during the seventh quarter of his presidency. His average approval rating has declined each quarter since he took office, falling by more than two percentage points in the most recent quarter to establish a new low. Obama's decreased popularity is also evident in his favorable rating. For the first time, more Americans view the president unfavorably (50%) than favorably (47%), and his favorable rating is the lowest of his presidency. Since his inauguration, positive opinions of him have declined by...

 Hindsight is 20/20, but sometimes foresight is pretty clear, too. The Hill 2010 Midterm Election Poll, conducted over the past four weeks in 42 toss-up House districts, paints a clear picture of danger for Democrats.In those races, all but two of which are currently in Democratic hands, Republican challengers were found to be ahead in 31. The Dems still held the edge in seven, and four were tied. That 31, added to some 15 Dem seats that are so lost they weren’t even worth polling, would put the GOP pickup at 46 if voter sentiment does not change. But...

Despite President Obama’s weekend visit to the state to boost the candidacy of Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, Republican Sharron Angle remains slightly ahead in Nevada’s U.S. Senate race - for the fourth survey in a row. The latest Rasmussen Reports telephone survey of Likely Voters in Nevada finds Angle with 49% support to Reid’s 45%. Four percent (4%) like some other candidate in the race, and two percent (2%) remain undecided with one week until Election Day. (To see survey question wording, click here.)

A new Fox News poll in Kentucky shows Rand Paul with a solid seven point lead over Jack Conway (D) in the U.S. Senate race, 50% to 43%. Key finding: While Paul was viewed favorably by 48% of voters and unfavorably by 41% of voters, only 38% had a positive impression of Conway while 51% held an unfavorable view. A new Public Policy Polling survey shows independent vioters “have moved toward Rand Paul in droves over the last month and a half and as a result he’s built his lead in the Kentucky Senate race up to 13 points,” 53%...

The economic climate had never been worse, gold prices were skyrocketing, real unemployment had jumped to between 17 and 19 percent, and many of the unemployed were walking away from their newly built houses, unable to afford the mortgage. Banks were closing at a rapid rate, some 500 in the previous year. At the same time, over 15,000 companies followed the banks into failure. Europeans were dumping American stocks, looking for more stable investments for their assets. Government policy seemed to exacerbate the problems, and as the election neared, the Democrats, holding the majority of seats in the House, as...

Politico’s new poll reinforces the fact that momentum remains strong with fired-up Republicans, mainly because of fired-up independents.  The numbers look daunting for Democrats with just one week to go before Election Day, and in many places, past the time many have already voted.  And it’s not as though the Democrats didn’t have warnings that their massive expansion of government wouldn’t have dire consequences: Expressing deep dissatisfaction with President Obama’s policies and performance, independents have increasingly sided with conservatives in the belief that government grew too large, too fast under Obama—and that it can no longer be trusted. In the...

In October, Gallup is reporting three estimates of voter preferences for the midterm congressional elections, adding two turnout scenarios among likely voters to the registered voter preferences it has been publishing since March. Explore these measures alongside other key indicators relevant to the 2010 vote. Model GOP Dem Registered Voters 48 44 High Turnout 52 43 Low Turnout 55 41

President Obama is spending the next week crisscrossing the country in support of Democratic candidates before this year's midterm elections. While the president may do a great job of energizing the base, he may not be able to convert any Independents who have yet to decide for whom they will vote. Currently, two-thirds of Americans (67%) have a negative opinion of the job President Obama is doing while just over one-third (37%) have a positive opinion. This continues the president's downward trend and he is now at the lowest job approval rating of his presidency. These are some of the...

I got the following e-mail from the Tea Party Express and wondered if others had heard of a poll showing Christine this close. Stunning news to report today, fellow patriots. A brand new poll has Christine O'Donnell surging to within 6% of her Democrat challenger, Chris Coons. This late-in-the-campaign surge replicates her surge in the polls in the GOP primary, when everyone had written her off and said she could never win. She proved the so-called "experts" wrong before and she seems poised to do so again! With just 10 days left until Election Day, we would love nothing more...

Entering Final Week, The GOP Has A Death Grip On The House Joe Weisenthal Oct. 24, 2010, 6:52 PM According to InTrade, odds of the GOP taking over the house are now a staggering 90%. However, it's not all roses for the Republicans: The Democrats are still over 50% to hold the Senate. Christine O'Donnell's odds are down to 6%. In California, Barbara Boxer is at 75% to hold off Carly Fiorina. One huge scalp though: Harry Reid is just over 40% to hold his Senate seat[snip]

Just over a week before Election Day, signs of widespread Republican enthusiasm are apparent in the early-voter data, including in some places with highly competitive statewide races. Yet at the same time, for Democrats there are promising data in numerous states suggesting that the idea of a devastating turnout gap may be overblown. POLITICO surveyed early voting through Saturday in 20 states, and in 14 of the 15 that have voter registration by party, the GOP's early turnout percentage is running ahead of the party's share of statewide voter registration — whether measured against 2006 or 2008, when President Barack...

As the president’s numbers climb sharply, results suggest that Democrats may be succeeding in firing up their base. Despite doom-saying about Democrats’ chances in the midterms, the latest NEWSWEEK Poll (full results) shows that they remain in a close race with Republicans 12 days before Election Day, while the president’s approval ratings have climbed sharply. The poll finds that 48 percent of registered voters would be more likely to vote for Democrats, compared with 42 percent who lean Republican (those numbers are similar to those in the last NEWSWEEK Poll, which found Democrats favored 48 percent to 43 percent). President...

Only 39 percent of Americans now believe President Barack Obama deserves to be reelected, according to a Gallup poll conducted Oct. 14-17. That is a steep decline from the 48 percent who told Gallup he deserved reelection in a survey conducted in mid-June. In the Oct. 14-17 poll, a majority of Americans--54 percent--told Gallup that Obama does not deserve to be re-elected. In the Oct. 14-17 survey and in three previous polls this year, Gallup asked approximately 1,000 American adults this question: “Please tell me whether you think each of the following political office-holders deserves to be re-elected, or not....

http://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/politics/general_politics/october_2010/most_voters_oppose_the_reelection_of_anyone_who_voted_for_the_health_care_law_auto_bailouts_stimulus_plan Incumbents, beware: The major votes you’ve cast in Congress over the past couple years appear likely to come back to haunt you this Election Day. A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that most Likely Voters think their representative in Congress does not deserve reelection if he or she voted for the national health care law, the auto bailouts or the $787-billion economic stimulus plan. (To see survey question wording, click here.) Those votes also appear to be driving factors in the GOP’s consistent lead over Democrats on the Generic Congressional Ballot. Most strong supporters of President Obama...

Republican Sharron Angle has opened a larger lead in the Nevada Senate race, according to the most recent Rasmussen poll. According to this, Angle's lead is almost larger than the margin of error, dramatically increasing the chances that she will beat Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid on November 2nd. This is the first Rasmussen poll taken since last week's debate and appears to be showing momentum for Angle. Reid again appears to be having difficulty building traction among Nevada voter and is not well liked by independents. Furthermore, Angle actually crosses the 50% mark, a near death-knell for Reid. Reid...

Likely voters in battleground districts see extremists as having a more dominant influence over the Democratic Party than they do over the GOP. This result comes from The Hill 2010 Midterm Election Poll, which found that 44 percent of likely voters say the Democratic Party is more dominated by its extreme elements, whereas 37 percent say it’s the Republican Party that is more dominated by extremists. The revelations in a survey of 10 toss-up congressional districts across the country point to problems for Democrats, who are trying to motivate a disillusioned base and appeal to independents moving to the GOP...

Likely voters in battleground districts see extremists as having a more dominant influence over the Democratic Party than they do over the GOP. This result comes from The Hill 2010 Midterm Election Poll, which found that 44 percent of likely voters say the Democratic Party is more dominated by its extreme elements, whereas 37 percent say it’s the Republican Party that is more dominated by extremists.

Republicans maintained their edge over Democrats in the generic ballot as Nov. 2's elections drew nearer. The GOP kept its healthy lead over Democrats in both high and low turnout scenarios in Gallup's weekly test of likely voters' preference between the two parties. Fifty-six percent of likely voters said they would back an unnamed Republican candidate for Congress in a test of a low-turnout scenario for the crucial midterm elections. Thirty-nine percent in that same model said they would back a Democratic candidate, an increase by one percent over last week.

NEW BRUNSWICK, N.J – While New Jersey voters are less likely to say President Barack Obama is Muslim compared to recent national polls, a Rutgers-Eagleton Poll released today finds 12 percent still call him Muslim. Obama is Protestant, and his religion is correctly identified by 43 percent of respondents; 3 percent think he is Roman Catholic, while 38 percent say they do not know. Nationally, 43 percent do not know Obama’s religion, according to a Pew Center poll released last month. About three-in-four voters who think Obama is a Muslim claim they learned his religion from the media, 10 percent...