Exit poll: Nation in a funk turns to Republicans

Published 11:40 pm Tuesday, November 4, 2014

WASHINGTON — The glum voters who handed Republicans full control of Congress on Tuesday feel the U.S. is stagnating under President Barack Obama’s leadership but put little faith in politicians of either party.

Most voters leaving polling places said they don’t have much trust in government, feel the nation is off on the wrong track and believe life will be worse for the next generation. Those feeling pessimistic were more likely to vote for Republican congressional candidates.

Above all, voters worried about the economy, preliminary exit polls show. That also helped Republicans take control of the Senate and add to their dominance in the House.

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People who said their own financial situation grew worse in the past two years voted for Republican congressional candidates by a 2-1 margin.

In Concord, New Hampshire, Julie Votaw said she voted a straight Republican ticket as a protest against what she sees as a lack of leadership from the White House.

“I want to send a statement to the Obama administration that I’m very upset,” the 50-year-old homemaker said, adding: “I just feel like no one is in control.”

Overall, more than half of voters disapproved of the way Obama is handling his job.

Republican candidates had to overcome voters’ displeasure with their own party leaders. More than a third of those who voted for a Republican House candidate were dissatisfied or even angry with GOP leaders in Congress. A quarter of Democratic voters were similarly upset with Obama.

“I feel we need a change in Washington, somehow, someway,” said Jodi Beauchene, 44, a food merchandiser in Fargo, North Dakota, who turned to the Libertarian congressional candidate because she’s fed up with both major parties.

What’s on voters’ minds:

 

ISSUES CUT BOTH WAYS

Preliminary poll results show voters embracing some Republican ideas. Just over half think the government is doing too many things better left to businesses and individuals. About two-thirds feel the nation is seriously off on the wrong track — slightly more than thought that when Republicans won back control of the House in 2010.

On many issues overshadowed by the economy, however, most voters take positions that align more with the Democratic Party.

A majority favor offering immigrants who are in the country illegally a way to stay. A little more than half think abortion ought to be legal in most cases, and most of the voters consider climate change a serious problem.

Nearly two-thirds think the U.S. economic system favors the wealthy, a common theme among Democratic candidates.

Health care complaints came from both sides. People who said health care is their top issue were about as likely to say Obama’s overhaul didn’t go far enough as to say it went too far. Overall, those people tended to vote Democratic.

People who said either immigration or foreign policy was their top issue tended to vote Republican.

 

IT’S THE ECONOMY, STILL

The economy remains the big issue for more than 4 in 10 voters, who rank it ahead of health care, immigration or foreign policy.

Despite the stock market’s recovery and improvements in hiring, most say the U.S. economy is stagnating or even getting worse these days. Those voters were much more likely to vote for Republican congressional candidates.

About a third say the economy is improving, and they strongly backed Democrats.

A big reason voters feel glum: Almost half say their own family’s financial situation hasn’t improved much over the past two years, and a fourth say it’s gotten worse.

Still, the number who say their family’s finances are better has improved from 2010, when Americans were still reeling from the recession. At that time, only 15 percent said their family’s outlook had improved. About 3 in 10 people say things are better today.

 

WHO VOTED HOW

White voters favored Republicans by a 20-point margin. Two-thirds of Hispanics voted Democratic in House races, and black voters were overwhelmingly for the Democrats.

As usual, men leaned Republican while women leaned Democratic. Democrats lost some of the female support they held in the 2012 presidential race, but did better among women than in the 2010 midterms.

Republicans did better among married people, whether male or female, and rural dwellers.

Single women and city dwellers were especially Democratic.

Regular churchgoers favored Republicans, while those who never attend religious services overwhelmingly voted for Democrats.

Voters with incomes under $50,000 generally voted for Democrats, while those who earn more tended to support Republicans.

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The survey of 18,937 voters nationwide was conducted for AP and the television networks by Edison Research. This includes preliminary results from interviews conducted as voters left a random sample of 281 precincts Tuesday, as well as 3,113 who voted early or absentee and were interviewed by landline or cellular telephone from Oct. 24 through Nov. 2. Results for the full sample were subject to sampling error of plus or minus 2 percentage points; it is higher for subgroups.