Americans disapprove of both Congressional Republicans and Democrats, according to a recent Gallup poll. Thirty-four percent of U.S. voters approve of the job Congressional Republicans are doing, while 38% believe the same about Congressional Democrats. Still, approval for both parties in Congress has not been above 40% since 2009. In 2017, approval for the Congressional GOP was at a record low of 20%. The lowest approval rating for Democrats in the last decade was 28% in late 2011. Both dips in approval rating were around times of looming government shut downs.
While national approval for each party in Congress is low, each party’s participants are supportive of their team. Sixty-three percent of Republicans approve of Republicans in Congress, while 64% of Democrats approve of Democrats in Congress. Republicans win more approval from Democrats (13%), than conversely Democrats win approval among Republicans (8%)
These numbers should not be seen as a general rating applied to each individual member. Voters tend to approve of the job their congressman is doing compared to Congress as a whole. That said, it is clear Americans continue to be underwhelmed with leaders in Washington, D.C., giving incumbent challengers more pick up opportunities in 2020.
