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1310633 tn?1430224091

CNN/ORC poll: Democrats lose 2014 edge following Obamacare uproar

Washington (CNN) – What a difference a month makes.

A new CNN/ORC International poll indicates a dramatic turnaround in the battle for control of Congress in next year's midterm elections.

Democrats a month ago held a 50%-42% advantage among registered voters in a generic ballot, which asked respondents to choose between a Democrat or Republican in their congressional district without identifying the candidates.

That result came after congressional Republicans appeared to overplay their hand in the bitter fight over the federal government shutdown and the debt ceiling.

But the Democratic lead has disappeared. A new CNN/ORC poll indicates the GOP now holds a 49%-47% edge.

The new survey was conducted last week and released Tuesday.

The 10-point swing follows a political uproar over Obamacare, which included the botched rollout of HealthCare.gov and controversy over insurance policy cancelations due primarily to the new health law.

The turnaround in the CNN/ORC poll follows similar shifts in recent national surveys from Quinnipiac University and Fox News.

At a news conference two weeks ago, President Barack Obama acknowledged that problems plaguing the startup of the new healthcare law could hurt Democrats.

"There is no doubt that our failure to rollout the ACA smoothly has put a burden on Democrats, whether they are running or not because they stood up and supported this effort through thick and thin," Obama said.

The CNN/ORC poll, released as the President makes a West Coast campaign fundraising swing on behalf of fellow Democrats, indicates both parties making gains within their base.

"It looks like the biggest shifts toward the Republicans came among white voters, higher-income Americans, and people who live in rural areas, while Democrats have gained strength in the past month among some of their natural constituencies, such as non-white voters and lower-income Americans," said CNN Polling Director Keating Holland.

"If those patterns persist into 2014, it may indicate that Obamacare is popular among those who it was designed to help the most, but unpopular among the larger group of voters who are personally less concerned about health insurance and health care," Holland said.

Republicans currently have a 17-seat advantage in the U.S. House with the Democrats holding a 55-45 majority in the Senate.

While the generic ballot question is one of the most commonly used indicators when it comes to the battle for Congress, the poll results are a long way from predicting what will happen next November.

"There is just under a year to go before any votes are actually cast and the 'generic ballot' question is not necessarily a good predictor of the actual outcome of 435 separate elections," Holland cautions.

"A year before the 2010 midterms, for example, the Democrats held a six-point lead on the generic ballot but the GOP wound up regaining control of the House in that election cycle, thanks to an historic 63-seat pickup," he said.

The poll was conducted November 18-20 for CNN by ORC International, with 843 adult Americans, including 749 registered voters, questioned by telephone. The survey's overall sampling error is plus or minus 3.5 percentage points.

SOURCE: http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2013/11/26/cnnorc-poll-democrats-lose-2014-edge-following-obamacare-uproar/?hpt=hp_t2
7 Responses
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317787 tn?1473358451
I agree with you, it is a mess and getting worse

I just heard about single payer insurance when Vermont decided to put everyone on medicare/medicaid vs  the affordable care which by the way is not affordable
  i.e. family of 4 $1,000 a month $10K deductible
Where is the affordable care in that?

I am a family of 2 and I could not afford that.  Maybe congress could afford?  Not any families I know
Helpful - 0
206807 tn?1331936184
My prediction is, Republicans will regain control of The House but the Senate is going to be a close toss up. Keep in mind, we still have a year and a year is an eternity in politics.
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163305 tn?1333668571
I STILL say the whole bunch needs to be etch-a-sketched away and we begin anew.
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649848 tn?1534633700
Seems that the screw ups that both sides are making, sort of levels the playing field.  They're both looking pretty sad and unworthy right now.
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973741 tn?1342342773
Weird time in history, isn't it?  I suspect a poll about how people feel about Republicans right now also isn't very positive.  Probably the screw ups that the Republicans keep making is the best thing going for Democratic re election.  

Maybe those independents will finally have a real chance?  
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Avatar universal
Guess again
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1310633 tn?1430224091
I suppose that because this poll puts the Left in a negative light, we're about to get a mouthful of, "Polls don't mean anything!", from our resident Dem's...

Whoever said 'You can't have your cake AND eat it to', obviously never talked to a Democrat in this forum.
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