Parties Now Neck-and-Neck on Generic Congressional Ballot

Tuesday, February 10, 2009

Are Republicans winning the public relations battle over spending in the $800-billion-plus economic stimulus package? Democrats and Republicans are nearly even in this week's edition of the Generic Congressional Ballot.

The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone surveys found that the Democrats’ lead is down to just one percentage point. Forty percent (40%) of voters said they would vote for their district’s Democratic candidate while 39% said they would choose the Republican (see crosstabs).

This marks the lowest level of support for the Democrats in tracking history and is the closest the two parties have been on the generic ballot.

Only four percent (4%) said they would vote for a candidate from another political party.

Last week, 42% said they would support their Democratic candidate, and 38% said they would vote Republican.

Over the past year, Democratic support has ranged from a low of 40% to a high of 50%. In that same time period, Republicans have been preferred by 34% to 41% of voters nationwide.

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Men now decisively support the GOP by a 42% to 36%, while women continue to support President Obama’s party 44% to 36%.

Voters not affiliated with either party support the GOP more by a 34% to 28% margin, while another 29% are undecided. Twelve percent (12%) of Democratic voters say they would vote for a member of the opposite party, while 8% of Republicans say the same.

Investors favor the GOP by a 44% to 35% margin, while non-investors prefer Democrats 50% to 31%.

Voters employed by the government say they would vote Democratic, 46% to 31%, while entrepreneurs favor the GOP 44% to 40%. Workers in the private sector also favor the GOP slightly more by a 40% to 37% margin, while retirees favor Democrats by just a two-point margin.

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Crosstabs and historical data are available to Premium Members only.

Rasmussen Reports is an electronic publishing firm specializing in the collection, publication, and distribution of public opinion polling information.

The Rasmussen Reports Election Edge™ Premium Service offers the most comprehensive public opinion coverage available anywhere.

Scott Rasmussen, president of Rasmussen Reports, has been an independent pollster for more than a decade.

The national telephone survey of 3,500 Likely Voters was conducted by Rasmussen Reports February 2-8, 2009. The margin of sampling error for the survey is +/- 1 percentage point with a 95% level of confidence.

Date	Dem	GOP
02-08-09	40%	39%
02-01-09	42%	38%
01-25-09	42%	35%
01-18-09	42%	35%
01-11-09	42%	36%
12-31-08	43%	37%
12-21-08	44%	36%
12-14-08	42%	37%
12-07-08	42%	38%
11-30-08	43%	40%
11-23-08	44%	39%
11-16-08	42%	38%
11-09-08	43%	41%
11-02-08	47%	41%
10-26-08	47%	40%
10-19-08	45%	39%
10-12-08	46%	38%
10-05-08	45%	37%
09-28-08	46%	37%
09-21-08	45%	38%
09-14-08	44%	38%
09-07-08	45%	37%
08-31-08	46%	36%
08-24-08	46%	35%
08-17-08	46%	36%
08-10-08	45%	37%
08-03-08	46%	36%
07-27-08	47%	34%
07-20-08	45%	36%
07-13-08	46%	36%
07-06-08	47%	34%
06-29-08	47%	35%
06-22-08	47%	34%
06-15-08	48%	34%
06-08-08	47%	34%
05-22-08	47%	39%
04-29-08	46%	41%
04-06-08	43%	37%
03-13-08	44%	40%
02-14-08	44%	40%
01-15-08	43%	38%
12-09-07	46%	36%
11-04-07	46%	35%
10-04-07	48%	36%
09-04-07	50%	32%
08-01-07	47%	37%
07-17-07	46%	37%
06-21-07	46%	34%
05-31-07	45%	38%
05-03-07	47%	36%
04-10-07	45%	35%

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