Bad news for Democrats: New polling numbers put Republicans far ahead in the vote count for the 2014 elections, due primarily to the botched rollout of Obamacare and the broken promise by the president that Americans could keep their current health care plans.
The GOP has a 2-point percentage edge in widening control of Congress during the midterm elections, CNN reported, citing its latest poll with ORC International. By the numbers: Republicans would lead Democrats, 49 percent to 47 percent, and Republicans would hold a 17-seat advantage in the House.
That’s significant, given just a month ago, Democrats led Republicans, 50 percent to 42 percent, CNN said. The tallies are among registered voters, queried over the telephone between Nov. 18 and Nov. 20. The poll surveyed 843 adult Americans and has a plus or minus margin of error of 3.5 percentage points.
The findings were just released Tuesday, and poll takers say the dramatic swing in party support reflects the Obamacare fiasco and the chaos that’s resulted from canceled insurance policies, CNN said.
“It looks like the biggest shifts toward the Republicans came among white voters, higher-income Americans and people who live in rural areas,” said CNN polling director Keating Holland, in the CNN report. “If those patterns persist into 2014, it may indicate that Obamacare is popular among those it was designed to help the most, but unpopular among the larger group of voters who are personally less concerned about health insurance and health care.”
The numbers also show that the GOP would gain a 17-seat majority in the House — but Democrats would keep a 55-45 lead in the Senate.
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Still, the poll — which as conducted using a generic ballot question — is not a certain predictor of the race that’s still months away.
“There is just under a year to go before any votes are actually cast and the ’generic ballot’ question is not necessarily a good predictor of the actual outcome of 435 separate elections,” Mr. Holland said in the report. “A year before the 2010 midterms, for example, the Democrats held a six-point lead on the generic ballot but the GOP wound up regaining control of the House in that election cycle, thanks to an historic 63-seat pickup.”
• Cheryl K. Chumley can be reached at cchumley@washingtontimes.com.
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