Nearly Half Say GOP House Majority ‘Good for America’

Most voters are content with the results of the midterm elections, but are divided over why Republicans fell short of their “red wave” expectations.

A new national telephone and online survey by Rasmussen Reports and The National Pulse finds that 48% of Likely U.S. voters believe Republicans winning a majority in the House of Representatives is good for America, while 34% think it’s bad for the country. Another 14% say the GOP taking control of the House will not make much difference. (To see survey question wording, click here.)

While Republicans eked out a narrow majority in the House, Democrats managed to maintain control of the Senate. Forty-four percent (44%) of voters believe it is good for America that Democrats kept their Senate majority, while 41% think it was bad for the nation and 13% say it won’t make much difference.

The midterms did not produce the Republican “red wave” that many had predicted. Thirty-three percent (33%) of Likely Voters say Republican Party leadership is to blame for the GOP’s midterm disappointment, while another 33% blame former President Donald Trump. Sixteen percent (16%) say individual candidates are to blame for Republicans falling short of expectations and 11% think it’s nobody’s fault.

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The survey of 1,000 U.S. Likely Voters was conducted on November 16-17, 2022 by Rasmussen Reports and The National Pulse. 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.

Democrats are more likely than Republicans or independent voters to blame Trump for the GOP’s midterm disappointment. Forty percent (40%) of Democrats say Trump was to blame for Republicans falling short of expectations in the midterm elections, but that belief is shared by only 24% of Republicans and 34% of voters not affiliated with either major party. Thirty-nine percent (39%) of GOP voters blame Republican Party leadership, as do 26% of Democrats and 33% of unaffiliated voters. Sixteen percent (16%) of Republicans, 22% of Democrats and 11% of unaffiliated voters say individual candidates were most to blame for Republicans not doing as well as expected in the midterms.

As might be expected, 79% of Republicans believe it’s good for America that their party won a majority in the House and 74% of Democrats think it’s good for America that their party kept a majority in the Senate. By an 18-point margin, more unaffiliated voters say the GOP House majority is good for the country (45%) than believe it’s bad (27%). However, 40% of unaffiliated voters believe it’s bad for America that Democrats maintained their majority in the Senate, compared to 34% who think it’s good.

Men (54%) are much more likely than women voters (43%) to say Republicans winning the House majority is good for America, while women voters (46%) are slightly more likely than men (42%) to believe Democrats keeping control of the Senate is good for the country.

Fifty-five percent (55%) of whites, 31% of black voters and 43% of other minorities think Republicans winning a House majority is good for America. Forty percent (40%) of whites, 61% of black voters and 44% of other minorities say Democrats maintaining their Senate majority is good for the country. Black voters (41%) are more likely than whites (33%) or other minorities (29%) to believe Trump is to blame for Republicans not doing as well as expected in this year’s midterm elections.

Voters 65 and older are most likely to think it’s good for America that Republicans won a majority in the House, and are also most likely to blame Republican Party leadership for the GOP falling short of expectations in the midterms.

Voters with incomes over $200,000 a year are most likely to say it’s bad for America that Republicans won the House majority and also most likely to believe it’s good for the country that Democrats kept their Senate majority, as well as to blame Trump for the GOP’s midterm failures.

Among voters who say it’s good for America that Republicans won a majority in the House, 42% blame Republican Party leadership for the GOP not doing as well as expected in this year’s elections. Among those who say it’s good for the country that Democrats kept their Senate majority, 55% blame Trump for Republicans falling short of expectations in the midterms.

Former President Donald Trump announced last week he will seek the White House again in 2024, but most voters don’t think he should and have a more favorable view of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis.

Most voters believe cheating may have influenced this year’s elections, and think voting by mail makes it easier to cheat.

Additional information from this survey and a full demographic breakdown are available to the public as well as Platinum Members.

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