Voters Trust Republicans More Than Democrats on Nine out of 10 Important Issues
It’s been two months since Republicans regained control of the House of Representatives and they are now trusted more than Democrats on nine out of 10 important issues regularly tracked by Rasmussen Reports.
In early January, voters trusted the GOP on all ten issues. That was the last time Republicans held trust on every issue since late August 2010. Still, this shows a sharp contrast from two years ago when Democrats were trusted more than Republicans on most issues.
The latest national telephone survey finds that 47% of Likely Voters trust Republicans more than Democrats to handle the economy, an issue that’s been regarded as the most important by voters for several years now. Thirty-nine percent (39%) trust Democrats more on this issue. These findings have shown little change since early June 2009. (To see survey question wording, click here.)
Below the economy, in terms of importance, is the issue of healthcare. Forty-six percent (46%) trust Republicans more to handle this issue, while 42% place their trust in Democrats. In December, Democrats had a slight 45% to 43% edge, but it was the first time President Obama’s party had led on the issue since July of last year.
Although the Republican-controlled House of Representatives voted earlier this year to repeal the law, the measure has gained little traction in the Senate where Democrats remain in the majority. But the number of voters who are at least somewhat confident that repeal will happen is at the second highest level since the law's passage by Congress a year ago.
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Two surveys of 1,000 Likely U.S. Voters were conducted March 10-11 and March 14-15, 2011 by Rasmussen Reports. The margin of sampling error is +/- 3 percentage points with a 95% level of confidence. Field work for all Rasmussen Reports surveys is conducted by Pulse Opinion Research, LLC. See methodology.
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