President Obama isn’t on the ballot this fall, but voters say they’ll be turning out to oppose him.
Thirty-two percent of registered voters see the midterm elections as a vote against Obama, compared to just 20 percent in favor, with the midterm elections less than two weeks away.
Forty-five percent of voters do not consider the president a factor in their ballots, according to a new Pew Research Center survey.
By comparison, 30 percent of registered voters in mid-October 2010 thought of their vote as “against” Obama, with 27 percent for the then-first term president.
But it’s also a less stark number than the 2006 midterms, when 66 percent said they were voting against President George W. Bush, compared to just 45 percent in favor.
The negative factor brought by Obama — who maintains a disapproval rating of 51 percent — could spell trouble for the Democrats on Nov. 4, who cling to a narrow Senate majority.
Though more voters view the Democratic Party favorably (47 percent) than they do the Republican Party (39 percent), the GOP holds the edge on dealing with major issues such as terrorism, the budget deficit, the economy and immigration.
Democrats only have the upper hand over Republicans on healthcare.
Another number that should worry Democrats is that 68 percent of those voters who support a Republican candidate have given a lot of thought to the election, compared with 54 percent of their Democrat counterparts.
Both parties maintain high levels of anti-incumbent satisfaction. About two-thirds (68 percent) say do they not want current members of Congress re-elected.
The survey of 2,003 adults was conducted via telephone Oct. 15-20, with a margin of error of 2.5 points.
