Poll: Perceptions of Democrats and Republicans in the Congressional Battleground

This Navigator Research report covers how constituents in House battleground districts rate Democrats in Congress and Republicans in Congress, who they trust more on key issues, and support for various policies they think should be prioritized during this Congress.

In our first Navigating the Battleground survey of the new Congress, both Democrats in Congress and Republicans in Congress are underwater among battleground constituents, underscoring widespread dissatisfaction with congressional job performance overall.

Democrats in Congress are underwater by nearly 20 points (net -19; 39 percent favorable – 58 percent unfavorable) while Republicans fare somewhat better, but remain underwater by double digits (net -11; 43 percent favorable – 54 percent unfavorable). Lower favorability ratings toward Democrats in Congress are driven partly by dissatisfaction among self-identified Democrats: nearly one in four (23 percent) express unfavorable views toward Democrats in Congress compared to just 9 percent of Republicans who hold unfavorable views of Republicans in Congress.

• Independents also hold significantly more negative views toward Democrats in Congress (net -28; 34 percent favorable – 62 percent unfavorable) than Republicans in Congress (net -13; 42 percent favorable – 55 percent unfavorable).

However, perceptions differ greatly when evaluating their individual congressional representatives as compared to broader party reputations.

Battleground constituents hold a net positive view of their individual Democratic representative by 7 points (44 percent favorable – 37 percent unfavorable) while perceptions of Republican incumbents are evenly split (net -1; 41 percent favorable – 42 percent unfavorable).

When battleground constituents are asked which party they trust more on key issues, clear distinctions emerge between Democrats and Republicans.

Democrats hold double-digit advantages on issues like “ensuring the wealthy pay their fair share in taxes” (net +16; 46 percent trust Democrats more – 30 percent trust Republicans more) and “protecting Social Security” (net +12; 49 percent trust Democrats more – 37 percent trust Republicans more). Conversely, Republicans enjoy substantial advantages on “reforming the government” (net -17; 30 percent trust Democrats more – 47 percent trust Republicans more) and “getting things done” (net -14; 31 percent trust Democrats more – 45 percent trust Republicans more).

• Republicans hold narrower advantages on “handling the economy” generally (net -5; 41 percent trust Democrats more – 46 percent trust Republicans more) and on “fighting inflation” (net -7; 37 percent trust Democrats more – 44 percent trust Republicans more).
• Neither party holds a decisive advantage when it comes to “lowering costs for working families” (net +2; 44 percent trust Democrats more – 42 percent trust Republicans more) or “looking out for people like me” (net even; 42 percent trust Democrats more – 42 percent trust Republicans more).

Battleground constituents struggle to differentiate between Democrats’ and Republicans’ commitment to middle-class and working families.

Two in five constituents see both Democratic economic policies and Republican economic policies as most favoring the middle class and working people (38 percent each). However, there are notable differences on perceptions of whom each party’s economic priorities favor: a significant majority believe Republicans’ economic policies most favor wealthy individuals and corporations (56 percent) compared to just 35 percent who say the same about Democratic economic policies. 18 percent see Democratic economic policies as most favoring the poor while just 1 percent say the same of Republican economic policies.

Democrats’ reputation faces a significant gap in effectiveness and relatability as compared to the Republicans’ reputation

By a 23-point margin, a majority of battleground constituents believe Democrats in Congress focus more on helping other people (54 percent, including 55 percent of independents) rather than “people like me” (31 percent, including just 16 percent of independents). Just one in four believe “get[ting] things done” describes Democrats in Congress well (net -47; 25 percent well – 72 percent not well), and seven in ten believe Democrats are “too focused on being politically correct” (net +42; 69 percent describes well – 27 percent does not describe well). Additionally, Democrats in Congress hold double-digit deficits on attributes essential to improving their standing with middle- and working-class constituents, including a 14-point deficit on “value[s] work” (39 percent describes well – 53 percent does not describe well) and a 19-point deficit on “has the right priorities” (39 percent describes well – 58 percent does not describe well).

Despite these challenges, constituents clearly describe Democratic policies and actions they want members of Congress to push for.

Top priorities include incentivizing companies to return high-quality manufacturing jobs to the U.S. (net +89; 93 percent support – 4 percent oppose), banning members of Congress from trading stocks (net +87; 91 percent support – 4 percent oppose), and protecting Medicare’s ability to negotiate for lower prescription drug prices (net +76; 84 percent support – 8 percent oppose).