What did Shakespeare’s Macbeth say of life? “It is a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing.” He might just as well have been talking about politics in America today.
Republican Attorney General Greg Abbott has a double-digit lead over Democrat Wendy Davis in the race to be Texas’ first new governor in nearly 14 years.
Abbott posts a 51% to 40% lead over Davis, a state senator, in Rasmussen Reports’ latest statewide telephone survey of Likely Texas Votes. Three percent (3%) like some other candidate, and seven percent (7%) are undecided. (To see survey question wording, click here.)
(Want a free daily e-mail update? If it's in the news, it's in our polls). Rasmussen Reports updates are also available on Twitter or Facebook.
The survey of 840 Likely Voters in Texas was conducted on October 1-2, 2014 by Rasmussen Reports. The margin of sampling error is +/- 3.5 percentage points with a 95% level of confidence. Field work for all Rasmussen Reports surveys is conducted by Pulse Opinion Research, LLC. See methodology.
Most adults think their fellow Americans should be proud of the nation’s history, but most doubt that they actually know much about it.
A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that 72% of American Adults say Americans should be proud of the history of the United States. They’ve been saying the same for over six years. Just 12% think they should be ashamed of it, while 16% are not sure. (To see survey question wording, click here.)
(Want a free daily e-mail update? If it's in the news, it's in our polls). Rasmussen Reports updates are also available on Twitter or Facebook.
The national telephone survey of 1,000 Adults was conducted by Rasmussen Reports on September 26-27, 2014. The margin of sampling error for the survey is +/- 3 percentage points with a 95% level of confidence. Fieldwork for all Rasmussen Reports surveys is conducted by Pulse Opinion Research, LLC. See methodology.
Republican David Perdue still holds a slight lead over Democrat Michelle Nunn inGeorgia's U.S. Senate race.
The latest Rasmussen Reports statewide telephone survey of Likely GeorgiaVoters finds Perdue drawing 46% of the vote to Democrat Nunn’s 42%. Three percent (3%) prefer some other candidate in the race, while nine percent (9%) are undecided. (To see survey question wording, click here.)
(Want a free daily e-mail update? If it's in the news, it's in our polls). Rasmussen Reports updates are also available on Twitter or Facebook.
The survey of 1,000 Likely Voters in Georgia was conducted on September 30-October 1, 2014 by Rasmussen Reports. The margin of sampling error is +/- 3 percentage points with a 95% level of confidence. Field work for all Rasmussen Reports surveys is conducted by Pulse Opinion Research, LLC. See methodology.
Voters think last year’s partial shutdown of the federal government never should have happened, but the vast majority acknowledges that the shutdown has had little or no impact on them personally. The shutdown began a year ago this week amid protests from President Obama and senior congressional Democrats that it would have a disastrous effect on the U.S. economy, and 26% of Likely U.S. Voters agree that the overall impact of the shutdown has been as bad as predicted. But the latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that 51% disagree and say the overall impact has not been as bad as predicted. Twenty-three percent (23%) are not sure. (To see survey question wording, click here.)
(Want a free daily e-mail update? If it's in the news, it's in our polls). Rasmussen Reports updates are also available on Twitter or Facebook.
The survey of 1,000 Likely Voters was conducted on October 1-2, 2014 by Rasmussen Reports. The margin of sampling error is +/- 3 percentage points with a 95% level of confidence. Field work for all Rasmussen Reports surveys is conducted by Pulse Opinion Research, LLC. See methodology.
Republicans seem to be pulling away in the race to win a majority in the U.S. Senate. At least this week.
In mid-September, several polls seemed to be going the other way. The well-informed Washington Post analyst Chris Cillizza wrote that for the first time in this election cycle, odds favored the Democrats keeping their majority.
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Americans say they have a better chance for career advancement by staying at their current job than going to work for someone else.
A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that 43% of Working Americans say they have a better chance to advance their career by staying at their current job. This finding is up five points from August and the highest finding since January 2013. One-in-three (33%) Working Americans say going to work for someone else will advance their careers, down four points from previous survey and the lowest finding since January 2013. Twenty-four percent (24%) remain undecided. (To see survey question wording, click here.)
(Want a free daily e-mail update ? If it's in the news, it's in our polls). Rasmussen Reports updates are also available on Twitter or Facebook.
The survey of 622 Employed Adults was conducted on September 28-29, 2014 by Rasmussen Reports. The margin of sampling error is +/- 4 percentage points with a 95% level of confidence. Field work for all Rasmussen Reports surveys is conducted by Pulse Opinion Research, LLC. See methodology.
In Colorado’s other contentious election, Democratic Governor John Hickenlooper has pulled slightly ahead of Republican challenger Bob Beauprez in his bid to keep his job.
Hickenlooper now picks up 50% of the vote to Beauprez’s 46% in the latest statewide telephone survey of Likely Colorado Voters. Two percent (2%) prefer some other candidate, while three percent (3%) are undecided. (To see survey question wording, click here.)
(Want a free daily e-mail update? If it's in the news, it's in our polls). Rasmussen Reports updates are also available on Twitter or Facebook.
The survey of 950 Likely Voters in Colorado was conducted on September 29-30, 2014 by Rasmussen Reports. The margin of sampling error is +/- 3 percentage points with a 95% level of confidence. Field work for all Rasmussen Reports surveys is conducted by Pulse Opinion Research, LLC. See methodology.
Live from Minnesota, it’s Democratic Senator Al Franken’s bid for reelection, and he’s got an eight-point lead over Republican challenger Mike McFadden.
(Want a free daily e-mail update? If it's in the news, it's in our polls). Rasmussen Reports updates are also available on Twitter or Facebook.
The survey of 750 Likely Voters in Minnesota was conducted on September 29-30, 2014 by Rasmussen Reports. The margin of sampling error is +/- 4 percentage points with a 95% level of confidence. Field work for all Rasmussen Reports surveys is conducted by Pulse Opinion Research, LLC. See methodology.
At least four deaths in this country have now been attributed to a new strain of the severe respiratory disease known as enterovirus, and more than one-out-of-four Americans now say there are cases of it in their own state. But most are at least somewhat confident that the U.S. public health system can control the disease.
The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that 59% of American Adults are at least somewhat concerned personally about the threat of this new enterovirus, with 21% who are Very Concerned. Thirty-six percent (36%) don’t share that concern, but that includes only six percent (6%) who are Not At All Concerned. (To see survey question wording, click here.)
(Want a free daily e-mail update? If it's in the news, it's in our polls). Rasmussen Reports updates are also available on Twitter or Facebook.
The survey of 1,000 Adults was conducted on September 30-October 1, 2014 by Rasmussen Reports. The margin of sampling error is +/- 3 percentage points with a 95% level of confidence. Field work for all Rasmussen Reports surveys is conducted by Pulse Opinion Research, LLC. See methodology.
West Virginia remains one of the Republicans’ best chances to pick up a Democratic seat in the U.S. Senate.
(Want a free daily e-mail update? If it's in the news, it's in our polls). Rasmussen Reports updates are also available on Twitter or Facebook.
The survey of 750 Likely Voters in West Virginia was conducted on September 30-October 1, 2014 by Rasmussen Reports. The margin of sampling error is +/- 4 percentage points with a 95% level of confidence. Field work for all Rasmussen Reports surveys is conducted by Pulse Opinion Research, LLC. See methodology.
Thirty years ago, a college kid in Kentucky was caught growing marijuana plants in his closet. That turned him into a convicted felon, and though he's been on the right side of the law ever since, he still can't vote. On any job application, he must check the box next to "Have you ever been convicted of a felony?"
All this misery for growing a plant whose leaves the past three presidents admit having smoked.
We know this story because Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky keeps telling it. That a Southern Republican probably running for president is condemning such prosecutions as unfair speaks volumes on the collapsing support for the war on marijuana -- part of the larger war on drugs.
Follow Froma Harrop on Twitter @FromaHarrop. She can be reached at fharrop@gmail.com. To find out more about Froma Harrop and read features by other Creators writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Web page at www.creators.com.
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The race for the Senate is perceptively moving in the Republicans’ direction, but not so dramatically that we’re ready to call the race definitively for them.
While we’ve long said the 2014 map and midterm dynamics make a GOP takeover of the Senate a probable outcome, there are just too many close races left and more than a month to go, when big gaffes, unexpected legal actions, and national events can potentially flip a Senate seat or two.
Incumbents might have something to worry about this November as voters do not think their local representative is good for the job nor that they deserve to be reelected.
A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that 23% of Likely U.S. Voters think their representative in Congress is the best person for the job. This finding is up slightly from June which was the lowest finding since November 2009. A plurality (41%) believes their local representative is not the best person for the job. This is down six points from the previous survey and is the lowest finding since June 2013. Thirty-six percent (36%) are not sure. (To see survey question wording, click here.)
(Want a free daily e-mail update? If it's in the news, it's in our polls). Rasmussen Reports updates are also available on Twitter or Facebook.
The survey of 1,000 Likely Voters was conducted on September 25-26, 2014 by Rasmussen Reports. The margin of sampling error is +/- 3 percentage points with a 95% level of confidence. Field work for all Rasmussen Reports surveys is conducted by Pulse Opinion Research, LLC. See methodology.
Twenty-five percent (25%) of Likely U.S. Voters think the country is heading in the right direction, according to a new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey for the week ending September 28.
The number who say the country is heading in the right direction is unchanged from the previous week and has been below 30% most weeks during the past year.
(Want a free daily e-mail update? If it's in the news, it's in our polls). Rasmussen Reports updates are also available on Twitter or Facebook.
The national telephone survey of 3,500 Likely Voters was conducted by Rasmussen Reports on September 22-28, 2014. The margin of sampling error for the survey is +/- 2 percentage points with a 95% level of confidence. Fieldwork for all Rasmussen Reports surveys is conducted by Pulse Opinion Research, LLC. See methodology.
One of the most crucial races for Republicans to win control of the U.S. Senate remains a dead heat with just over a month to go until Election Day.
A new Rasmussen Reports statewide telephone survey of Likely Colorado Voters finds Republican Cory Gardner picking up 48% of the vote to Democratic Senator Mark Udall’s 47%. Two percent (2%) prefer some other candidate and three percent (3%) are undecided. (To see survey question wording, click here.)
(Want a free daily e-mail update? If it's in the news, it's in our polls). Rasmussen Reports updates are also available on Twitter or Facebook.
The survey of 950 Likely Voters in Colorado was conducted on September 29-30, 2014 by Rasmussen Reports. The margin of sampling error is +/- 3 percentage points with a 95% level of confidence. Field work for all Rasmussen Reports surveys is conducted by Pulse Opinion Research, LLC. See methodology.
When tracking President Obama’s job approval on a daily basis, people sometimes get so caught up in the day-to-day fluctuations that they miss the bigger picture. To look at the longer-term trends, Rasmussen Reports compiles the numbers on a full-month basis, and the results can be seen in the graphics below.
The president’s monthly job approval climbed one point to 47% in September, up from his low for the year reached during the past two months. It's still up just two points from his two-year low of 45% reached last November during the troubled roll-out period for the new national health care law. Obama’s approval rating hit a year-to-date high of 49% in February and May.
(Want a free daily e-mail update? If it's in the news, it's in our polls). Rasmussen Reports updates are also available on Twitter or Facebook.
Daily tracking results are collected via telephone surveys of 500 likely voters per night. The monthly numbers in this article are based on approximately 15,000 interviews each month with likely voters. The margin of sampling error is less than +/- 1 percentage points with a 95% level of confidence.
Americans now face beheadings, gang warfare, Ebola, ISIS and a new war in Syria. It's natural to assume that the world has gotten more dangerous. But it hasn't.
People believe that crime has gotten worse. But over the past two decades, murder and robbery in the U.S. are down by more than half, and rape by a third, even as complaints about "rape culture" grow louder.
John Stossel is host of "Stossel" on Fox News and author of "No They Can't! Why Government Fails, but Individuals Succeed." For other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit www.creators.com.
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The Obama administration yesterday announced that it is spending $9 million to provide lawyers for some of the young illegal immigrants who flooded across the border earlier this year, but voters strongly believe these illegal immigrants do not have the same legal rights U.S. citizens do.
The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that 68% of Likely U.S. Voters say the new illegal immigrants should not have the same legal rights and protections that U.S. citizens have. Just 19% disagree. Thirteen percent (13%) are not sure. (To see question wording, click here.)
(Want a free daily e-mail update? If it's in the news, it's in our polls). Rasmussen Reports updates are also available on Twitter or Facebook.
The survey of 1,000 Likely Voters was conducted on August September 29-30, 2014 by Rasmussen Reports. The margin of sampling error is +/- 3 percentage points with a 95% level of confidence. Field work for all Rasmussen Reports surveys is conducted by Pulse Opinion Research, LLC. See methodology.
Most Americans still consider military service good for young people but know fewer people who have joined the military out of frustration with the job market.
A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that 36% of U.S. Adults now say they know someone who has joined the military because of the bad job market. That’s down from 43% a year ago and 39% in January 2012. (To see survey question wording, click here.)
(Want a free daily e-mail update? If it's in the news, it's in our polls). Rasmussen Reports updates are also available on Twitter or Facebook.
The survey of 1,000 Adults was conducted on September 26-27, 2014 by Rasmussen Reports. The margin of sampling error is +/- 3 percentage points with a 95% level of confidence. Field work for all Rasmussen Reports surveys is conducted by Pulse Opinion Research, LLC. See methodology.
