New Polling Data on House Districts
Press Release
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
9/1/2010
Contact:
Doug Holtz-Eakin
info@americanactionforum.org
Rob Collins
info@americanactionfoum.org
Left Coast Shock: 68% of Voters Say Country is on Wrong Track
The Third Round of Polling by the American Action Forum Finds 52% of West Coast Voters Say the
Economy is the Most Important Issue Facing the Country
American Action Forum Releases Survey Results for 10 West Coast House Districts
WASHINGTON, D.C. –Polling conducted for American Action Forum August 23-29, 2010, with 4,000 likely general election voters – 400 each in AZ 01, AZ 05, AZ 08, CA 11, CA 47, CO 03, CO 04, NM 01, NV 03, and OR 05 – shows competitive races throughout the West. Interviews were conducted by live interviewers, and all respondents were selected randomly from a list of registered voters in the districts and indicated they are likely to vote in the elections for Congress this fall.
Key Findings:
- Voters say the country is on the wrong track by a nearly three-to-one margin. Sixty-eight percent of the likely voters in these districts say the country is off on the wrong track, while just 24 percent say the country is heading in the right direction.
- The economy is the most important issue in a top-of-mind measure, while controlling government spending and making Washington, DC accountable are also important in a closed-ended question. Fifty-two percent of voters say the economy is the most important issue facing the country in an open-ended question. When presented with seven options in a closed-ended question, 27 percent of voters say “creating new jobs” is most likely to affect their vote for Congress, 21 percent say “controlling government spending,” and 16 percent say “making Washington, DC more accountable” are the issues most likely to affect their vote for Congress this fall.
- A plurality of voters prefers a Republican on the generic ballot test. While each of these ten districts have Democratic incumbents, voters in these districts prefer a Republican to a Democrat as their next congressman by a 41 to 34 percent margin.
- President Obama and Speaker Pelosi are both viewed unfavorably in these districts. Voters in these districts give Barack Obama a 44 to 51 percent favorable to unfavorable rating and give Nancy Pelosi a 29 to 58 percent rating.
- A majority of the likely voters in these districts opposes the health care reform plan. Voters oppose the new law by a 53 to 39 percent margin, including 45 percent who strongly oppose it.
“While we plan to continue to research the views, opinions and attitudes of the American people, this concludes the first phase of our research. This project has been helpful in learning what is concerning the American people and to help us develop future center-right policies. In the West, Midwest and East Coast polling we found that while there are some local and regional differences—the most important issues are job creation, controlling government spending and creating accountability in Washington,” said Senator Norm Coleman, CEO of the American Action Forum.
“It is clear that voters in West coast polling believe our nation is on the wrong track. It is important to understand why there is such discontent and in order to develop policies based on center-right principles to give confidence to the American people that our nation can be put back on track,” said Douglas Holtz-Eakin, the President of the Forum.
View the WEST Polls Here.
Memos and Polls for individual districts can be found here:
See our MIDWEST and EAST COAST polling.
