Four in 10 Americans say which party controls Congress after the midterm elections matters “a great deal” to them, a poll released Monday found.
The Gallup poll showed that in addition to the 40 percent who say control of Congress matters a lot to them, another 29 percent said it matters “a moderate amount” to them.
The high-level of concern about party control is the same as it was just before the 2002 midterm elections, the poll found, when control of the Senate flipped from Democrats to Republicans and the GOP gained seats in the House.
Despite that, more than 2 in 10 Americans couldn’t name which party currently controls either chamber. About half of those polled can identify that Republicans control the House or that Democrats control the Senate, though only 36 percent can correctly identify both chambers’ controlling party. Those who are registered to vote are much more likely to know which party controls each chamber, signifying a higher level of political engagement.
Poll results come from telephone interviews with more than 1,000 adults across the country between Sept. 4-7. The margin of error is 4 percent.
• Jacqueline Klimas can be reached at jklimas@washingtontimes.com.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.