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34% Say U.S. Heading in Right Direction

Thirty-four percent (34%) of Likely U.S. Voters think the country is heading in the right direction, according to a new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey for the week ending February 1. 

This finding is down one point from the previous week which was the highest level of confidence since March 2013. The number of voters who think the country is heading in the right direction was below 30% most weeks for the past year.

Fifty-eight percent (58%) of voters now believe the nation is headed down the wrong track. This is up one point from the previous week which was the lowest finding since March 2013.

A year ago at this time, 29% said the country was heading in the right direction, while 64% thought it was headed down the wrong track.  

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The national telephone survey of 2,800 Likely Voters was conducted by Rasmussen Reports from January 26-February 1, 2015. The margin of sampling error for the survey is +/- 2 percentage points with a 95% level of confidence. Field work for all Rasmussen Reports surveys is conducted by Pulse Opinion Research, LLC. See methodology.

Fifty-nine percent (59%) of Democrats say the country is headed in the right direction. Eighty-three percent (83%) of Republicans and 62% of voters not affiliated with either major political party think the country is on the wrong track. 

Sixty-four percent (64%) of white voters say the country is on the wrong track. Sixty-two percent (62%) of black voters say the country is headed in the right direction. Other minority voters are more closely divided.

The older the voter, the more likely he or she is to think the country is headed in the wrong direction.

Eighty-one percent (81%) of conservatives and 52% of moderates say the country is on the wrong track, but 59% of liberals disagree.

Investors are more positive about the direction of the country than non-investors. Military veterans are more critical of the country's direction than those who have not served in uniform.

The Rasmussen Employment Index which measures worker confidence slipped a point in January following two months in a row of six-year highs.

Following reports of a measles outbreak in 14 states, Americans overwhelmingly support requiring children to be vaccinated before being allowed to attend school.

Americans support women in the pulpit and in senior leadership positions within the church. But they are more hesitant when it comes to supporting openly gay and lesbian religious leaders.

Americans are eating out more but still enjoying it less than a good meal at home.

Voters want President Obama and the Republican-led Congress to work together: The problem is that, depending on their party, voters want them to do completely different things. So where do we go from here? 

Crosstabs and historical data are available to Platinum Members only.

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The national telephone survey of 2,800 Likely Voters was conducted by Rasmussen Reports from January 26-February 1, 2015. The margin of sampling error for the survey is +/- 2 percentage points with a 95% level of confidence. Field work for all Rasmussen Reports surveys is conducted by Pulse Opinion Research, LLC. See methodology.

Rasmussen Reports is a media company specializing in the collection, publication and distribution of public opinion information.

We conduct public opinion polls on a variety of topics to inform our audience on events in the news and other topics of interest. To ensure editorial control and independence, we pay for the polls ourselves and generate revenue through the sale of subscriptions, sponsorships, and advertising. Nightly polling on politics, business and lifestyle topics provides the content to update the Rasmussen Reports web site many times each day. If it's in the news, it's in our polls. Additionally, the data drives a daily update newsletter and various media outlets across the country.

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