GALLOP: Approval of Congressional Republicans Tops Democrats for 1st Time Since 2005

Approval of Congressional Republicans is up 6% since October, while Congressional Democrats' approval is down to 35%

WASHINGTON, D.C. (Texas Insider Report) — According to the latest Gallup Poll, more Americans today approve of the job Congressional Republicans are doing than they do of the job Congressional Democrats are doing – by a margin of 40% vs. 35%.
  • The rating for Republicans in Congress has risen 6% since late October and the House’s impeachment effort of President Donald Trump.
  • Congressional Democrats' approval rating has declined 3% and their disapproval has climbed 5%, from 57% to 62% over the same period.
Congressional Democrats have historically had a slightly higher job approval rating than Congressional Republicans since 1999 when Gallup began periodically tracking both, though Republicans have edged out Democrats a number of times over the 21-year trend.

These latest readings from a Feb. 17th-28th poll are Gallup's first since the Dec. 18th, 2019 impeachment of President Trump in the U.S. House and his subsequent acquittal in the U.S. Senate on Feb. 5th, 2020.

The votes in the House and Senate broke largely along party lines, with only a few exceptions.

Although majorities of Republicans and Republican-leaning Independents, as well as Democrats and Democratic-leaning Independents, approve of the job their own party's members of Congress are doing, there is a significant difference between the two groups.

Republicans' and Republican leaners' more positive evaluations of their own party's Congressional caucus are the major reason why Republicans in Congress receive higher ratings than Democrats in Congress overall.
  • Republicans' approval of Congressional Republicans has jumped 13% to 76% since October.
  • But Democrats' 65% approval of Congressional Democrats is virtually unchanged from October.
Do you approve or disapprove of the way the [Republicans in Congress/Democrats in Congress] are handling their job?



 
 
 






Just as the public's assessments of Congressional Republicans appear to have benefited from Trump's impeachment, so too has Trump. In January and February, the president's job approval rating rose to his personal best of 49%; it remains elevated from where it was before his impeachment. Likewise, Trump's favorability rating, which was 41% in October, reached 48% in January, including 89% favorable among Republicans and Republican-leaning Independents.

Senate Majority Leader McConnell's Favorability Rating Up After Impeachment
  • Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell's image has also improved after impeachment, just as the job approval for President Trump and Republicans in Congress has risen. Although McConnell's favorability is not particularly high on a relative basis, it is his highest rating since Gallup's first reading in 2010, and sits well above his personal low of 18% in 2015, the year he became the Senate Majority Leader. McConnell's favorability rating has increased 6% since October 2019 to 33% in the most recent poll due to a 15% jump to 62% among Republicans and Republican-leaning Independents. There has been no meaningful change in McConnell's unfavorable rating of 48% since October 2019.
  • House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's 39% unfavorable rating has climbed – from 50% in October to 55% now – and nearly matches her highest unfavorable of 56% that came just before the 2010 midterm elections in which Republicans regained control of the House. She receives a 71% favorable rating from her party's base, and her overall favorability rating is also roughly the same as it was in October 2019.
  • Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer's current favorable, 31%, is in line with all of Gallup's readings for him since 2017, but his 46% unfavorable rating is his highest of five measurements. 58% of Democrats and Democratic leaners view him favorably, roughly in line with a reading from January 2019.
Favorability Ratings of U.S. Congressional Leaders, Before & After Impeachment: % Favorable
Implications for President Trump, and House Republicans & Democrats
  • Republicans in Congress appear to have benefited from the impeachment of President Trump, as they are currently enjoying improved job approval ratings.
  • Republicans Donald Trump & Mitch McConnell's favorable ratings have likewise risen since impeachment.
  • Congressional Democrat's & Democrat party leader's public's ratings, meanwhile, are slightly worse than before impeachment, given no change in favorability or approval but higher unfavorable and disapproval ratings.
  • Vice President Mike Pence's current 41% favorable rating is essentially unchanged from October 2019.
In the coming months, as Americans' memories of impeachment fade, their opinions may change. The coronavirus outbreak and the Democrat presidential nominating contests have already largely superseded impeachment in the news.
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