http://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/news/196316-poll-less-than-half-want-own-member-reelectedJanuary 24, 2014, 08:40 am
Poll: Less than half want own member reelected
By Mario Trujillo
Only 46 percent of people believe their own member of Congress deserves reelection — an all-time low in Gallup polling.
Last year, those who wanted their own member reelected reached 59 percent, according to the poll released Friday.
That number has fallen from a record high of 69 percent in 1998.
The Gallup survey backs up a Pew poll that found much of the same sentiment last October.
Gallup also found only 17 percent of people think most members should be reelected, equally matching a record low. Historically, that number has averaged about 40 percent.
Typically, people are more supportive of their own representative than Congress as a whole.
The breakdown is equal among Democrats and Republicans.
The anti-incumbent sentiment comes as dissatisfaction with government and disapproval of Congress has spiked heading into the 2014 elections.
Gallup notes that today’s numbers are much lower than in many wave elections in the past.
Democrats need to gain 17 seats in the House to win back control, while Republicans need to net six seats in the Senate.
“The beneficiary of the anti-incumbent sentiment is not clear in the current situation, in which one party controls the House and the other the Senate. Partisans on both sides of the aisle are displeased with Congress,” Gallup notes.
The poll surveyed 1,018 people earlier this month and has a 4 percent margin of error.
