Poll Finds Anger At Congress Hasn't Died Away Since Shutdown Ended

Americans Still Mad As Hell Over Shutdown

Anti-incumbent sentiment aimed at Congress is still running as high as it was in the middle of the government shutdown last month, according to a new HuffPost/YouGov poll.

According to the new poll, only 22 percent of Americans think the member of Congress from their district deserves reelection, while 48 percent do not. Another 31 percent said they weren't sure.

Anger runs even higher against the rest of Congress, as only 7 percent of respondents said most members of Congress deserve reelection and 73 percent said they don't.

In an earlier HuffPost/YouGov poll -- conducted Oct. 9-10, during the government shutdown -- 25 percent said their own member of Congress deserved reelection, while 11 percent said they think most members of Congress deserve reelection.

Disdain for Congress crossed party lines in the latest survey: Only 27 percent of Republicans, 25 percent of Democrats and a mere 17 percent of independents said their own member of Congress deserves reelection.

Americans who identified their representative as a Republican said that lawmaker did not deserve reelection by a 56 percent to 29 percent margin. Those who identified their representative as a Democrat agreed by a 49 percent to 29 percent margin.

Notably, 27 percent weren't sure whether their representative was a Republican or a Democrat, and another 6 percent said they believed they were represented by "something else."

Respondents who weren't sure whether their member of Congress was a Democrat or a Republican tended also to be unsure whether he or she deserved reelection. But a 30 percent to 7 percent plurality said they wanted their mystery congressperson replaced.

The HuffPost/YouGov poll was conducted Nov. 1-2 among 1,000 U.S. adults using a sample selected from YouGov's opt-in online panel to match the demographics and other characteristics of the adult U.S. population. Factors considered include age, race, gender, education, employment, income, marital status, number of children, voter registration, time and location of Internet access, interest in politics, religion and church attendance.

The Huffington Post has teamed up with YouGov to conduct daily opinion polls. You can learn more about this project and take part in YouGov's nationally representative opinion polling.

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