A recent poll conducted by Gallup found that 53% of Americans want the GOP in Congress to have more influence than President Obama in setting the nation’s agenda.
The poll was conducted November 6-9, 2014, and Gallup reported that the results were taken from a “random sample of 828 adults, aged 18 and older, living in all 50 U.S. states and the District of Columbia,” who were surveyed via telephone interview.
The subjects who were surveyed were asked the question, “Who do you want to have more influence over the direction the nation takes in the next year – Barack Obama or the Republicans in Congress?”
53% of participants favored the Republicans in Congress taking control, and 36% preferred President Obama. This signals a shift from previous poll results.
In a 2012 Gallup poll, 46% of Americans preferred President Obama taking control, while only 42% favored the Republicans in Congress.
According to Gallup, the Republicans’ 17-percent lead over Obama both “exceeds what they earned after the 2010 midterm, when Americans favored Republicans by an eight-point margin,” and “eclipses the nine-point advantage Republicans had over Bill Clinton following the 1994 midterm in which Republicans captured the majority of both houses.”
The poll also found that 34% of Americans believe that the country will be better off with the Republicans in control. 19% think the country will be worse off, and 47% don’t think control by the GOP will make a difference.
Gallup reported that although “the midterm election provided a clear signal as to which party voters want to control Congress,” it also showed that “after four years of partisan gridlock, most Americans are not optimistic that the election’s outcome will improve things.”