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11/22/2024 06:41:44 am

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Voters Angry With Obama But Upset With GOP, Too –Exit Polls

A woman looks up from a voting booth as U.S. President Barack Obama takes part in early voting at a polling station in Chicago, Illinois, October 20, 2014.

(Photo : REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque) A woman looks up from a voting booth as U.S. President Barack Obama takes part in early voting at a polling station in Chicago, Illinois, October 20, 2014.

Republican and Democratic candidates found themselves hard-pressed to win over voters’ displeasure on Tuesday as Americans expressed doubt that either party could work with the Obama administration to get the U.S. back on track, exit polls show.

Over a third of those who voted for a Republican candidate were unhappy – even angry with party leaders in Congress. Eight in 10 voters were dissatisfied with the Congress has been doing its job while half disapproved of Obama’s performance.

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The main concern among voters is still the economy, six years after the financial crisis in 2008 helped get Obama into the White House. And while the president’s name is not on the ballot, Republican candidates have taken the opportunity to lever his low approval ratings over Democrats.

Majority of midterm voters had a dim view of the future with most saying the economy has been stagnant and getting worse. Only one out of five believed the government would do what’s right, a slight decrease from the 1994 midterm polls when the GOP won control of both the House and Senate.

Although the first round of exit polls show voters supported a number of Republican ideas, most of them appeared to agree more with the Democratic Party.

Most conservative-leaning constituents say the Obama administration has been going off track, getting involved in issues that are better left to individuals and businesses. But majority of voters seemed to favor letting illegal migrants stay in the U.S.

Many also expressed support for Obama’s military action against the Islamic State. They also backed the legalization of abortion in most cases, and expressed concern over climate change.

Likewise, about two-thirds of voters believe the country’s economy favors only the rich. Voters’ displeasure with Obama has been a significant drag on the Dems with nearly a third claiming their midterm ballot was to a certain degree, in repudiation against the administration.

A mere one out of five said their congressional vote was partly in support for Obama. At this point, both parties need to work hard to gain U.S. voters’ approval.

More than half of them held unfavorable sentiments toward Democrats and more than half similarly held unfavorable opinions of Republicans. About one in five voters said they didn’t like either one.

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