Thirty percent (30%) of Likely U.S. Voters now say the country is heading in the right direction, according to a new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey taken the week ending Sunday, May 11.

Voter optimism in the nation’s current course is down one point from the previous week and little changed from a year ago. The latest findings are in line with voter attitudes since early March after President Obama and Congress failed to agree on a budget cutting plan and the so-called sequester cuts kicked in. Confidence in the country's direction jumped into the low 40s last November and remained in the mid- to high 30s through February.

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The national telephone survey of 3,500 Likely Voters was conducted by Rasmussen May 6-11, 2013. The margin of sampling error for the survey is +/- 2 percentage points with a 95% level of confidence. Fieldwork for all Rasmussen Reports surveys is conducted by Pulse Opinion Research, LLC. See methodology.

Voters continue to trust Democrats more than Republicans on nine of 15 major issues regularly tracked by Rasmussen Reports, but the GOP has regained the trust advantage on the key issues of the economy and national security. 

New Rasmussen Reports national telephone surveying finds that 45% of Likely U.S. Voters now trust Republicans more than Democrats when it comes to handling the economy. Forty percent (40%) trust Democrats more. (To see survey question wording, click here.)

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Three national surveys of 1,000 Likely Voters each were conducted on March 10-11, March 14-15 & 18-19, 2013 by Rasmussen Reports. The margin of sampling error is +/- 3 percentage points with a 95% level of confidence. Fieldwork for all Rasmussen Reports surveys is conducted by Pulse Opinion Research, LLC. See methodology.

After falling for two straight months, the number of Americans who consider themselves Republicans jumped nearly three points in August.

During August, 37.6% of Americans considered themselves Republicans. That’s up from 34.9% in July  and 35.4% in June. It’s also the largest number of Republicans ever recorded by Rasmussen Report since monthly tracking began in November 2002. The previous peak for the GOP was 37.3% in September 2004. See History of Party Trends.

Americans are feeling better about their finances this month than one year ago when their confidence hit an all-time low, according to the COUNTRY Financial Security Index®. The Index inched up 0.8 points to 65.9 in August after slipping 1.1 points in June. This comes exactly one year after the Index reached its lowest reading ever at 62.4. This uptick in confidence also marks the first August increase since 2008 and the highest August Index reading since that year.

45% of Owners Whose Profitability Suffered in Downturn Don't Expect Sustained Recovery for Another Year; Two-Thirds of All Owners Likely to Tap Personal Assets

The Rasmussen Reports daily Presidential Tracking Poll for Tuesday shows that 46% of Likely U.S. Voters approve of President Obama's job performance. Fifty-three percent (53%) now disapprove.

Today’s figures include 24% who Strongly Approve of the way Obama is performing as president and 41% who Strongly Disapprove. This gives him a Presidential Approval Index rating of -17 (see trends). This is the worst approval index since September 26, 2012.

Results are updated daily at 9:30 a.m. Eastern (sign up for free daily e-mail update).

Republicans have edged ahead of Democrats on the Generic Congressional Ballot for the week ending May 19.

A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey shows that 40% of Likely U.S. Voters would vote for the Republican in their district’s congressional race if the election were held today, while 39% would choose the Democrat instead.

(Want a free daily e-mail update? If it's in the news, it's in our polls). Rasmussen Reports updates are also available on Twitter or Facebook. 

The national telephone survey of 3,500 Likely Voters was conducted by Rasmussen Reports from May 13-19, 2013. The margin of sampling error for the survey is +/- 2 percentage point with a 95% level of confidence. Field work for all Rasmussen Reports surveys is conducted by Pulse Opinion Research, LLC. See methodology.

In the final full month of his Presidency, just 13% of American adults said they Strongly Approved of the way that George W. Bush performed his job as president. Forty-three percent (43%) Strongly Disapproved.

Newspaper circulation has been eroding, television audiences shrinking, and reporters sent looking for work. But, while mainstream journalists and their companies struggle with the realities of an online world, consumers of journalism are pleased with the results.

October 11th is Columbus Day—the holiday honoring the anniversary of the October 12, 1492 arrival of Christopher Columbus to the Americas. A recent Rasmussen Reports survey found that only 11% declare Columbus Day as one of the nation’s most important holidays.