More than half of America's voters believe the new Republican majority in Congress will let them down before the 2016 presidential elections roll around, a new
Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey reveals.
According to the survey, released on Friday, 59 percent of the 1,000 likely voters surveyed said they believe it will be at least somewhat likely most voters will be disappointed, including 36 percent saying it's very likely voters will not be happy.
Only 26 percent of those polled do not believe the new Republican-controlled Congress will disappoint most voters, and seven percent said it's not at all likely voters will be disappointed.
The numbers are identical to the levels of disappointment similar voters predicted after the 2010 midterms, when 59 percent said in
a poll at the time that voters would be disappointed with the then-new House GOP majority when the 2012 elections were held.
The new poll, which carries a margin of error of plus-or-minus three points, was strongly divided among party lines. Sixty-one percent of Democrats think most voters are very likely to be disappointed with Republicans in Congress before 2016, but just 14 percent of Republicans and 32 percent of non-affiliated voters agree.
Such disappointments could cause issues for key
Republicans seeking the 2016 presidential nomination, said Republican strategist Charlie Black, an adviser to former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney and Arizona Senator John McCain during their presidential campaigns, last month.
The party's new governing responsibilities may force potential 2016 presidential candidates such as Marco Rubio of Florida and Ted Cruz of Texas to take uncomfortable votes that open them to criticism from rivals outside of Congress. Finally having the opportunity to pass legislation on projects such as the Keystone XL pipeline that are important to conservative voters could backfire, opening the doors to current or former state governors to campaign against Washington and its unpopular lawmakers.
"Anybody who's a senator who's running for president is obviously always in jeopardy for votes they have to cast. It is an advantage that governors have over them," Black said.
Meanwhile, most voters across demographic categories said they feel they will be disappointed in the new Republican-run Congress, the poll shows.
The voters who said healthcare and the environment are most important to their votes in the election were the most likely to think other voters will be disappointed, but those who emphasized foreign policy, immigration, and taxes and spending are the least likely.
Before the election, just 29 percent of all voters believed their representative in Congress deserved to be re-elected, Rasmussen found.
In addition, voters believed by a 55-percent margin that the Republican-led Congress will repeal Obamacare, a
poll taken last month before the elections reveals. Further, another 61 percent believe the new congress will pass legislation to build the Keystone XL pipeline project.
Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
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