Democrats in Congress have sunk to a record-low 18% job approval rating, according to a new Quinnipiac University national poll released Wednesday, underscoring growing voter frustration as Washington heads toward a pivotal midterm election year.
The survey found 73% of registered voters disapprove of how congressional Democrats are handling their jobs — the lowest approval level Quinnipiac has recorded since it began asking the question in 2009. The previous low was 19% approval in July.
Even more striking for Democrat leaders: Their own voters appear increasingly sour.
Among Democrats, just 42% approve of their party's performance in Congress, while 48% disapprove of it. That's a sharp drop from Quinnipiac's Oct. 22 poll, when 58% of Democrats approved and 36% disapproved.
Quinnipiac polling analyst Tim Malloy summed up the intraparty discontent as a "family squabble" spilling into the holiday season, noting Democrat voters still want the party to control the House but are "not the least bit happy" with what they're seeing from their leaders.
Republicans in Congress fared better, but remain underwater overall: 35% approve of the GOP's job performance, while 58% disapprove.
Among Republicans, however, 77% approve of how their party's members are handling their job.
Despite Democrats' dismal approval number, voters said they would narrowly prefer Democrats to win control of the U.S. House if the election were held today, 47% to 43% — though that edge has tightened since late October, when Democrats led 50% to 41%.
The poll also suggests why the political environment remains volatile.
Asked to name the most urgent issue facing the country, the economy and "preserving democracy" tied at 24% each, followed by immigration at 18%.
On the top issues list, voters gave Republicans the advantage on the economy (46%-41%) and immigration (47%-42%), while Democrats led on health care (51%-37%).
Quinnipiac surveyed 1,035 self-identified registered voters from Dec. 11-15, with a margin of error of plus/minus 3.9 percentage points.
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