Voters Uneasy with U.S. House Members

In our recent poll, voters were asked " If the election were held today, would you vote to reelect your incumbent US House member or would you like to see someone new win the seat?" The response was not encouraging for incumbents of either party (Click here to see graphic).

Only in the 4th Congressional District -- currently held by David Price of Chapel Hill -- did a plurality (yet not a majority) want to return the incumbent.

African-Americans (17.6 percent keep; 37.4 percent replace) are unhappier with their US House representatives than whites (24.5 percent keep; 44.6 percent replace).
Democrats seem to be more unhappy with their Congressperson than Republicans or Independents. Thirty-nine percent of Democrats want to replace the incumbent, compared to 31 percent for Republicans and 30 percent for Independents.

While voters' approval of the president's performance on both Iraq and the economy did not affect whether they want to replace their congressperson, it did affect the intensity with which they want to make such a replacement. Of the people who disapprove of the president's handling of the war 45.1 percent want to replace their representative compared to 34.8 percent of those who approve the president's performance. Nearly 43 percent of the respondents who disapprove of the president's economic performance want a new congressional representative; while 35.2 percent of those approving the president's performance want a new representative.

Combining the information on this question with the radical change in the president's ratings and with the ratings of Governor Easley's performance (see next story), it is not irrational to wonder if this is the beginning of a "throw-the-rascals-out" attitude in North Carolina.