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Senior Citizens Not as Likely as Most to be Leaning
to Democrats
New Pew Survey says President Bush is drag on
his party's prospects
Feb. 13, 2006 - President Bush's unpopularity has
become a drag on his party's prospects in the fall but senior citizens
age 65 and older are not as likely to be leaning Democratic as is the
average American voter, according to the latest national survey by the
Pew Research Center for the People & the Press, conducted Feb. 1-5 among
1,502 adults. Expand that age bracket to include baby boomers (50+),
however, and a majority of both older men and women are leaning toward
the Democrats.
(See
poll results below news story.)
Nine months before the midterm elections, the
Democrats hold a sizable lead in the congressional horse race and an
advantage on most major issues. Democrats lead by 50%-41% among
registered voters in the test ballot, which is little changed from last
September (52%-40%).
While retaining a huge advantage on traditional
party strengths like the environment and health care, Democrats also are
seen as better able to deal with the economy (by 46%-36%) and reform the
federal government (42%-29%). Terrorism, and to a lesser extent crime,
remain the GOP's only strong issues among 12 tested in the survey.
Roughly three-in-ten registered voters (31%) say
they consider their vote for Congress as a vote against Bush, compared
with 18% who say they see it as a vote for the president; 47% say Bush
is not much of a factor in their decision.
This represents a marked change from a comparable
point in the previous midterm campaign in February 2002 when by
nearly four-to-one (34% to 9%) more voters considered their vote as one
in favor of, rather than against, the president.
Yet the Democratic Party also shows signs of
weakness in the key area of leadership. Slightly more Americans say the
GOP has better political leaders, by 41%-37%.
Overall, the Democratic Party has a more favorable
image than the GOP, though its advantage here is fairly modest.
About half of the public (48%) say they have
favorable overall opinion of the Democratic Party, while 44% have a
negative impression. For the GOP, negative opinions outnumber positive
ones (by 50% to 44%). Notably, both parties are viewed less favorably
than they were last summer.
The survey also finds that by 31% to 14%, more
people say the Republican Party has greater involvement than the
Democratic Party in congressional corruption. But fully a third (34%)
volunteer that both parties are equally involved in corruption.
And most Americans say there is nothing new about
bribery and corruption in Congress. Six-in-ten say these problems are no
different than in the past, compared with 36% who believe that
corruption is more common today.
|
2006 Congressional
Election, Generic Candidate Preference
(Based on
Registered Voters) |
|
|
Republican /
Lean Republican |
Democrat
/
Lean Democrat |
Other /
Undecided |
|
|
Percent |
Percent |
Percent |
|
Total |
41 |
50 |
9 |
|
Sex |
|
|
|
|
Male |
46 |
45 |
9 |
|
Female |
36 |
54 |
10 |
|
Race |
|
|
|
|
White |
45 |
45 |
10 |
|
Non-white |
18 |
73 |
9 |
|
Black |
13 |
75 |
12 |
|
Race &
Sex |
|
|
|
|
White Men |
51 |
40 |
9 |
|
White
Women |
41 |
50 |
9 |
|
Age |
|
|
|
|
Under 30 |
34 |
55 |
7 |
|
30-49 |
45 |
47 |
8 |
|
50-64 |
38 |
53 |
9 |
|
65+ |
41 |
48 |
11 |
|
Sex
and Age |
|
|
|
|
Men under
50 |
51 |
40 |
9 |
|
Women
under 50 |
34 |
57 |
9 |
|
Men 50+ |
41 |
51 |
8 |
|
Women 50+ |
37 |
52 |
11 |
|
Education |
|
|
|
|
College
Grad. |
42 |
49 |
9 |
|
Some
College |
41 |
53 |
6 |
|
H.S. Grad
or less |
40 |
49 |
11 |
|
Family
Income |
|
|
|
|
$75,000+ |
50 |
45 |
5 |
|
$50,000-$74,999 |
50 |
40 |
10 |
|
$30,000-$49,999 |
38 |
55 |
7 |
|
$20,000-$29,999 |
41 |
50 |
9 |
|
<$20,000 |
23 |
64 |
13 |
Click here for the complete survey report.
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