Approval of Congress Matches All-Time Low

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Danny Yadron

Danny Yadron
The Wall Street Journal
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Aug 21, 2012 12:59 pm ET

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Approval of Congress has matched its all-time low, according to a Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll to be released in full later Tuesday. Meantime, voters have a slightly more positive view of the Democratic Party over the GOP as both sides prepare for their national conventions.

The survey of registered voters found that just 12% approve of the work lawmakers do on Capitol Hill, on par with voter sentiment in October 2008 when America plunged into an economic crisis. Another 82% in the new poll said they disapprove. The WSJ/NBC News poll has been asking the question since 1990.

The full results of the WSJ/NBC News poll will be released at 6:30 p.m. ET on WSJ.com. Update: Here is the writeup of the full poll results.

Last week, a Gallup poll reported that Congress’s approval rating had hit 10%, matching a 38-year-low in that poll last reached in February 2011.

The news comes less than two weeks after Republican Mitt Romney chose House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan, one of the leaders in Washington’s budget wars, as his running mate. But voters have been giving similarly low marks to Congress for a while, and it’s unclear what impact the sentiment will have on this fall’s elections. Voters tend to give their own congressmen much higher approval ratings than they give Congress as a whole.

Republicans are still expected to maintain control of the House while Democrats have a less firm grip on the Senate.

The poll also shows that President Barack Obama’s party maintains an edge in likability, with 42% viewing it positively and 40% negatively. When asked of the GOP, 36% said they held positive impressions and 45% had negative ones.

If nothing, the data suggests voter partisanship is hardening as Election Day approaches and record amounts of political ads fill the airwaves.

Last month, voters were split 40%-40% on the Democrats, with 34% saying they felt positively about the GOP and 43% feeling negatively about it.

In both cases, the percentage of voters who view the parties neutrally has fallen.

Neil King has more details on The News Hub.