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Politics

Most Recent Releases

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September 27, 2011

71% Favor Term Limits for Congress

Voters strongly support term limits for all members of Congress but don’t think it’s very likely the national legislators will vote to limit how long they can serve. The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that 71% of Likely U.S. Voters favor establishing term limits for all members of Congress. Just 14% oppose setting such limits, and 15% are undecided about them. (To see survey question wording, click here.) 

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September 27, 2011

60% Still Favor Death Penalty

The execution of Troy Davis last week for murdering a Georgia policeman prompted controversy here and abroad, but it did little to shift opinions on the death penalty. Still, a sizable majority of Americans worries that people may be executed for crimes they didn't commit.

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September 26, 2011

39% See 'Pro-Gun' As Positive Label, 27% Say It's A Negative

Rasmussen Reports periodically asks Likely U.S. Voters to rate political labels, and the latest national telephone survey finds that 39% consider it a positive when a political candidate is described as being “pro-gun.”

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September 26, 2011

59% Oppose Government Loan Help for Alternative Energy Company Like Solyndra

The questionable financial dealings of solar panel manufacturer Solyndra and its ties to the Obama administration are drawing little public attention so far, but most voters agree government help is not the best way to develop alternative energy sources.

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September 25, 2011

35% Say Legal System Places Individual Rights Over Public Safety

More than a third of voters believe the U.S. legal system worries too much about individual rights when it comes to public safety, but fewer believe it puts those rights over protecting national security.

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September 24, 2011

What They Told Us: Reviewing Last Week’s Key Polls - Week Ending September 24, 2011

For many Americans, their home is their primary investment in the future. Concern remains at record levels that that investment is at risk, and the sour economy continues to play heavily on next year’s race for the White House.

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September 23, 2011

Obama 48%, Bachmann 32%

Minnesota Congresswoman Michele Bachmann continues to fade in the latest hypothetical 2012 matchup with President Obama.

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September 23, 2011

New Hampshire GOP Primary: Romney 39%, Perry 18%, Paul 13%

Former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney is the runaway leader in the race for the 2012 Republican nomination in New Hampshire, home of next year’s first presidential primary.

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September 22, 2011

GOP Voters Strongly Believe Perry, Romney Can Beat Obama in 2012

More than 80% of likely Republican Primary voters say it is likely Texas Governor Rick Perry and former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney are likely to beat President Obama in the general election, but they are less confident about Minnesota Congresswoman Michele Bachmann and Texas Congressman Ron Paul doing the same.

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September 22, 2011

37% Favor Obama’s Deficit Reduction Plan, 42% Oppose

While many voters nationwide oppose President Obama’s new deficit reduction plan, most support raising taxes on the wealthy.

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September 21, 2011

Most Voters Think Democrats Led By the Left, GOP Led by the Right

Most voters see a clear ideological divide between the leaders of the two major political parties: The Democrats are led by liberals, and the Republicans are helmed by conservatives.

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September 20, 2011

Election 2012: Generic Republican 47%, Obama 42%

A generic Republican candidate holds a five-point advantage over President Obama in a hypothetical 2012 election match-up for the week ending Sunday, September 18.  This is the 11th week in a row the Republican has led the incumbent.

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September 20, 2011

59% View Hillary Clinton Favorably

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has her hands full with the ongoing unrest in the Middle East, but she remains the most popular member of President Obama's Cabinet.

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September 20, 2011

49% Think Neither Party in Congress Represents the People

Voters are more convinced than ever that neither major political party in Washington, DC is on their side.

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September 19, 2011

Among Undecided Voters, 64% Disapprove of Obama

Recent polling shows President Obama attracting between 39% and 46% of the vote against a variety of potential Republican challengers. Despite those relatively low levels of support, the president has never trailed a Republican by more than three percentage points and has enjoyed large double-digit leads in some match-ups.

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September 18, 2011

44% Conservative, 40% Moderate, 11% Liberal on Fiscal Issues

Twenty-nine percent (29%) of Likely U.S. Voters remain conservative on both fiscal and social issues, according to a new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey.

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September 17, 2011

What They Told Us: Reviewing Last Week’s Key Polls - Week Ending September 17, 2011

The presidential primary process doesn’t begin for real for another four months, but the fluctuations in our polling over the past week are a good indicator of how topsy-turvy things are likely to be in the race for the Republican nomination.

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September 16, 2011

65% Put Border Control Ahead of Legalizing Illegal Immigrants

With the Legal Workforce Act, a bill forcing companies to check the immigration status of their employees, working its way through Congress, voters nationwide continue to believe overwhelmingly that when it comes to immigration legislation the focus should be on the border. 

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September 16, 2011

39% Give Obama Good Marks on Libya

Now that anti-government rebels appear to have won in Libya, support for President Obama’s decision to aid them is up slightly, but voters are still dubious that the change will be better for the United States or the Libyan people.

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September 16, 2011

Obama 46%, Perry 39%

Before he entered his first debate as a presidential candidate, Texas Governor Rick Perry was the Republican frontrunner and held a modest lead in a hypothetical matchup against President Obama. Perry was the target for all the other candidates in the two most recent GOP debates, however, and he now trails the president by single digits.