GOP Holds Advantage on Issues, Neither Party Well-Liked

Data newly released by Gallup shows that the two major political parties in the United States are nearly equally unpopular. 56% of Americans view the Republican Party unfavorable and 58% say the same of the Democratic Party.

Though, despite the near equality here, Republicans seemed to edge out the Democrats by a healthy margin when asked which party will better protect the nations prosperity and security.

53% of Americans believe the Republican Party will do a better job keeping the country prosperous, as opposed to 39% who said the Democrats would do a good job over the next few years.

57% say the Republican Party will do a better job keeping the United States safe from international terrorism and military threats. 35% favor the Democrats here.

The poll was conducted by Gallup from September 1-23, which also shows that more than eight in 10 Americans are disappointed and disapprove of the job the very politically divided congress is doing. Nearly three-quarters are pessimistic about the direction of the economy and six in 10 disapprove of the job President Joe Biden is doing.

The Republican lead in keeping the country prosperous is up 4 points, jumping from 10-point margin last year. It is their largest lead on this topic since 1991. That year following the 1980s, obviously, when there Republicans did extraordinarily well on this measure. In the three decades since, however, the parties are becoming much more closely matched in expectations of which party will be best for the economic health, or the Democratic Party has led by a solid margin.

When it comes to national security (protecting the country from international terrorism and military threats), the GOP’s hold is ever better, leading their Democratic rivals by 22 points. Since 2002, the Republican Party has led on this measure with the exception of two readings, but today’s margin is one the widest.

When the topics most plaguing the country (economy, government/poor leadership, and immigration) are poised, 44% say the Republicans are more able to handle it, and 36% say the Democrats are. Republicans periodically would enjoy strong leads on these topics between the 1940s and 1980s, the new eight point lead is very uncommon since 1992. The GOP also had leads here last year, in 2015 and 2016.

Despite all of this, however, Republicans have been unable to turn these to into a positive image of their party or an advantage over Democrats. 56% of Americans view the Republicans unfavorably, while 42% view it favorably. These finding are consistent since 2005, when the favorability rating of the party suffered under then-President George W Bush’s approval rating going down and the growing unpopularity of the Iraq War. Their image was mostly positive for 13 years before that. The exceptions being in 1998/1999 when they impeached then-President Bill Clinton and he was acquitted in the Senate trial.

The Democratic Party’s image comes close to matching the Republicans’. 58% view them the Democrats unfavorably, and 40% view it favorably. The Democrats image was most positive in the 1990s and early 2000s up through 2009. Since then it has been at best, neutral in all readings save one (the re-election of Barack Obama in 2012), or their image as been net-negative.

Most will view their own party favorably, according to Gallup, while the majority of independents and the opposing party will view it unfavorably. However, it should be mentioned that Independents are mostly responsible for the Republicans’ advantage in national preferences for which party will better manage the nations economic and military success. Just a third of Independents will prefer the Democratic Party on these measures, while more than half chose the Republican Party. Helping the Republicans on this measure, more Democrats than Republicans will say the opposing party is better for handling both issues.

Since 2010, Americans have generally view both major parties unfavorably. Yet, since the parties dominate U.S. politics at every level, the party that Americans put greater trust in to handle the economy, security and safety of the country could influence how the American electorate will vote in elections. Americans, at the moment, see the Republicans as better equipped to handle these challenges which could help that party in the upcoming election cycle, but Gallup has found that these trends often change in a year.

Which is to say, that however interesting these finding are it cannot predict the public mood for next year’s Presidential election.

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