Conditions at some of the "Occupy" tent sites started going downhill at a most inopportune time. A New York Times/CBS poll had just reported that 47 percent of the public said that the movement's views reflect those of most Americans (with only 34 percent saying they do not). On the ground, the homeless were moving into several encampments, joined by various hangers-on drawn to the excitement.
President Obama is pushing Congress to pass his plan to give $35 billion to state and local governments to prevent layoffs of teachers and first responders such as firemen, policemen and rescue squad workers. But most Americans think state and local governments should tighten their financial belts instead.
A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that just 22% of Americans think the federal government should give states and localities $35 billion to prevent such layoffs. Nearly three times as many adults (64%) believe that the best way for state and local governments to avoid these layoffs is to cut back on other spending. Fourteen percent (14%) are undecided. (To see survey question wording, click here.)
Republicans remain ahead of Democrats on the Generic Congressional Ballot but only by three points for the week ending Sunday, October 30.
A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that 43% of Likely U.S. Voters would vote for the Republican in their district’s congressional race if the election was held now, while 40% would choose the Democrat instead.
(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.
Barack Obama carried Wisconsin easily in the 2008 presidential election, but he is slightly behind Texas Governor Rick Perry and runs just ahead of two other top Republican hopefuls in Rasmussen Reports’ first Election 2012 look at the Badger State.
Perry earns 46% support from Likely Wisconsin Voters to Obama’s 42% in a new statewide telephone survey. Six percent (6%) prefer some other candidate, and another six percent (6%) are undecided. (To see survey question wording, click here.)
The survey of 500 Likely Voters in Wisconsin was conducted on October 26, 2011 by Rasmussen Reports. The margin of sampling error is +/- 4.5 percentage points with a 95% level of confidence. Field work for all Rasmussen Reports surveys is conducted by Pulse Opinion Research, LLC. See methodology.
Scott Rasmussen talks to Patti Ann Browne on America's Newsroom about spending cuts and voter confidence in the bipartisan super committee to reduce the federal deficit.
President Obama continues to lead Texas Congressman Ron Paul in a hypothetical Election 2012 matchup.
The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey of Likely U.S. Voters finds Obama earning 44% support to Paul’s 35%. Thirteen percent (13%) prefer some other candidate, and eight percent (8%) are undecided. (To see survey question wording, click here.)
Voters have very little confidence that the bipartisan congressional super committee will find a way to significantly cut the federal deficit and believe overwhelmingly that taxes will be raised on the middle class in whatever budget-cutting deal Congress and the president reach.
As a result of last summer’s debt-ceiling deal, the 12-member super committee was created to find a way by Thanksgiving to cut the deficit by $1.2 trillion over the next 10 years, but just 19% of Likely U.S. Voters think the group is even somewhat likely to agree on a deficit-cutting plan by then.
The national telephone survey of 1,000 Likely Voters was conducted on October 28-29, 2011 by Rasmussen Reports. The margin of sampling error is +/- 3 percentage points witha 95% level of confidence. Field work for all Rasmussen Reports surveys is conducted by Pulse Opinion Research, LLC. See methodology.
Most voters nationwide still favor repeal of the national health care law, but fewer than half of those who already have health insurance think the law will force a change in their coverage.
The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey of Likely U.S. Voters shows that 54% at least somewhat favor repeal of the health care law, with 42% who Strongly Favor it. Thirty-nine percent (39%) at least somewhat oppose repeal, with 27% who are Strongly Opposed. (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 28-29, 2011 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.
The argument is being made in some quarters that, however unsuccessful Barack Obama's domestic policies have been, his record in foreign policy has been successful. But when you examine the claims of success, they seem a bit peculiar.
There's more commercial emphasis on Halloween than ever but little or no change in the number of adults getting into the spirit of the holiday.
It's that time of year again for visits to haunted houses and tales of ghastly ghouls. How about this for a story? More Americans than ever say they believe in ghosts.
A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that now nearly one-in-three American Adults (31%) believe in spectral phenomena. Sixty-two percent (62%) do not, but seven percent (7%) aren't sure. (To see survey question wording, click here.)
Most voters expect those who move here to adopt America's culture but still believe American society is fair and decent.
The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that nearly two-out-of three Likely U.S. Voters (64%) think society in this country is fair and decent. Twenty-six percent (26%) disagree and feel American society is unfair and discriminatory. (To see survey question wording, click here.)
Nearly seven months after large-scale protests first erupted in Wisconsin against his budget bill limiting collective bargaining rights for public employees, new polling shows state voters have a slightly improved opinion of Governor Scott Walker.
The latest Rasmussen Reports telephone survey of Likely Wisconsin Voters shows that 38% Strongly Approve of the job Walker is doing, while the same number (38%) Strongly Disapproves.
The survey of 500 Likely Voters in Wisconsin was conducted on October 26, 2011 by Rasmussen Reports. The margin of sampling error is +/- 4.5 percentage points with a 95% level of confidence. Field work for all Rasmussen Reports surveys is conducted by Pulse Opinion Research, LLC. See methodology.
For many conservatives and Tea Party voters, the race for the 2012 Republican presidential nomination boils down to “anyone but Romney.” Yet the former Massachusetts governor remains a frontrunner for the nomination, while the various conservative hopefuls rise and fall.
Romney is still the GOP presidential contender who voters consider most qualified to be president, although he falls short of the number who feel that way about President Obama.
With the economy still in the tank, unemployment hovering around nine percent (9%) and a Congress and president that cannot cooperate, a plurality of U.S. voters continues to believe America's best days are behind us.
The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that just 37% of Likely Voters think America's best days are in the future, while 45% say those days are in the past. Eighteen percent (18%) are not sure. (To see survey question wording, click here.)
Texas Governor Rick Perry made a media splash Tuesday when he unveiled his flat tax proposal, but his numbers against President Obama in a hypothetical Election 2012 matchup are little changed from last week.
The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey of Likely U.S. Voters shows the president picking up 45% of the vote to Perry’s 38%.
(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 26-27, 2011 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.
Former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney remains the Republican presidential contender who voters consider most qualified to be president, but he still falls short of the number who feel that way about President Obama. But most GOP voters think all four top hopefuls for their party’s presidential nomination have what it takes, although they’re a little less sure about Herman Cain.
A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey of Likely U.S. Voters finds that 52% feel Obama is qualified to be president. Forty-three percent (43%) disagree and say the current occupant of the White House is not fit for the job. (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 26-27, 2011 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.
Lauded by the Washington press corps for his "courage" and "honesty" in confronting federal deficits and the national debt, Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wis., wrote a budget that almost sank the Republican Party -- and may still damage its prospects -- because he proposed to dismantle Medicare. Yet his party still relies upon Ryan to speak on behalf of its most important constituency, now known in America and across the world as "the 1 percent."
Former Governor Tommy Thompson is the leading vote getter in Rasmussen Report’s first Election 2012 survey of the race in Wisconsin to replace retiring U.S. Senator Herb Kohl.
A telephone survey of Likely Voters in the state finds Thompson, a Republican, earning 49% support, while Congresswoman Tammy Baldwin, the only major declared Democratic candidate, picks up 42% of the vote. Given this matchup, four percent (4%) prefer some other candidate, and six percent (6%) are undecided. (To see survey question wording, click here.)
Despite some candidates campaigning as political “outsiders”, half of voters nationwide still prefer a candidate with some political experience over one who has never held office.
The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey of Likely Voters shows that 50% would rather vote for a candidate who has political experience over one who has never held office. Twenty-five percent (25%) would rather vote for someone who has never held office, while 24% are undecided. (To see survey question wording, click here.)
