The percentage of voters who think Congress is doing a poor job has reached its highest level ever recorded since regular tracking began in November 2006. Over half the nation’s voters (52%) now say Congress is doing a poor job, while just 11% give the legislature good or excellent ratings.

The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey found that the number of voters giving Congress poor ratings has jumped five points from a month ago. Before this month, the percentage ranking Congressional performance as poor had never exceeded 50%.

The low ratings stem from low expectations for Congress and generally unflattering perceptions of its members. Just 11% of voters believe Congress has passed legislation to improve live in America. Most voters (64%) disagree and believe Congress has done nothing to improve life in America, representing a three-point jump from last month.

Despite the low Congressional ratings, Democrats retain a solid lead over Republicans on the Generic Congressional Ballot.

Just 41% think it is even somewhat likely that Congress will seriously address important problems facing our nation over the next six months. That number has improved slightly since last month. Most voters believe it is unlikely that Congress will address serious problems.

Three-out-of-four voters (73%) think most members of Congress are more interested in helping their own political careers, while just 14% think they are genuinely interested in helping people. Nearly a third (30%) sees most members of Congress as corrupt, while 43% disagrees.

Women tend to stay more neutral than men on their ratings—a plurality of women (45%) give Congress a “fair” rating. While 64% of men say Congress is performing poorly, just 43% of women agree. Thirteen percent (13%) of men and just 9% of women say Congress doing a good or excellent job.

Congress receives poor ratings from 65% of Conservative voters, 48% of Moderate voters and 35% of Liberal voters. On average, voters who spend more time discussing politics are more likely to give Congress poor ratings than voters who spend less time on the subject.

The number of Republican voters who rate Congress rose eight points over the past month to 66%. Just 38% of Democrats give their party-dominated legislature negative assessments. However, just 17% of Democrats give Congress good or excellent ratings, along with 7% of Republicans. Among voters not affiliated with party, just 6% rate the legislature good or excellent and 57% rate it as poor.

Despite perceptions of Congress, separate Rasmussen Reports tracking reveals that the number of voters who consider themselves Democrats is at a record high in 2008. Other survey data shows that Democrats are trusted more than Republicans on key electoral issues tracked by Rasmussen Reports.

The current Senate has 49 senators from each party and two independents who caucus with the Democrats. The House of Representatives consists of 233 Democrats and 202 Republicans. At the time the Democrats won control of the legislature, 15% said Congress was doing a good or an excellent job. Between Election Day and the end of the year, while Republicans were still in control, perceptions of Congress declined even further. Public perceptions of the legislature rebounded after the Democrats grabbed the baton in early 2007 and then began to slump again in early summer as the nation watched congressional leaders try to impose an unpopular immigration bill.

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