After significant midterm losses, the Democratic Party is also suffering in the eyes of the American public. According to Gallup pollsters, Democrats are now at a record-low 36 percent favorable rating, down six points from just before the elections.
As for the Republican Party, a poll taken Nov. 6-9 found they are holding steady at 42 percent, unchanged from the earlier 40 percent, making it the first time since September 2011 that the GOP has a higher favorability rating than Democrats.
A broad Republican sweep in contests across the country gave them control of the Senate and possibly the largest House majority in almost a century. The GOP now controls 31 governorships and nearly two-thirds of state legislatures.
This latest drop in Democratic popularity is just the latest in a wild ride, particularly since President Barack Obama’s 2012 election. Then, Democratic favorability had reached 51 percent, the first time since 2009 that any party had majority support.
Post-election, however, was a different story. Democratic Party numbers dropped to an average of 45 percent during Obama’s second term. At the same time, Gallup says Republican Party favorability with voters plunged to 28 percent during the October 2013 federal government shutdown. It was the lowest numbers – for either party — since Gallup began tracking the question in 1992.
The shutdown raised concerns of a Democratic takeover of the House in the 2014 midterms, but it was short lived.
Obama also suffered from a series of political blunders: botched rollout of the federal healthcare.gov website; crises in Ukraine, Iraq and Syria; scandals at the Veterans Affairs and a slow-footed response after Ebola arrived on U.S. soil. Any momentum enjoyed by Democrats during the 16-day government shutdown evaporated.
As the midterms approached, the image of the Democratic Party suffered as Republicans’ improved slightly; by Election Day, the two parties were roughly equal.
Although the GOP has the popularity advantage over the Democratic Party, neither party can truly claim to be well liked, another sign of Americans’ dissatisfaction with politics in general.
Within the party themselves, the image of Republicans have held steady since September. Democratic Party support dropped among Democrats and independents.
Now, 81 percent of self-identified Democrats take a favorable view of their party; in September, it was 88 percent and 95 percent just before the 2012 election. Independents’ positive view of the Democratic Party is 25 percent, down 10 points from September.
In the wake of the 2012 presidential election, many observers talked about the GOP “image problem.” Two years later, it is the Democrats with the troubled image.
Democratic favorability has never been lower, after losing control of the U.S. Senate and reeling from a reinforced Republican House majority, at levels not seen in 90 years.
American voters do not necessarily like Republicans more, despite election victories. Neither party can claim any real progress in improving its image, but the 2014 elections clearly boosted the GOP’s ability to guide the political conversation in Washington and throughout the country.
Nevertheless, this relative popularity could prove challenging for GOP in two years.
Depending on how Republicans act from this point on, it could go one of two ways in 2016: they could win even more support, or suffer significant losses, just as the Democrats did this year.
