Community Corner
Is the GOP in 'Better Shape Than You Think?'
Pollster writes Republicans leading on economy, managing federal government.
By Patch Editor Jay Scott
The headline in The Wall Street Journal reads "Andrew Kohut: The GOP Is In Better Shape Than You Think."
Kohut, the founding director of the Pew Research Center, writes that although the party's image appeared to take a hit on the national level with the government shutdown and debt crisis, things don't look quite so bad now. From the article:
- Pew's mid-October national poll found a plurality thought the GOP "better able to deal with the economy" than the Democrats (44%-37%). Independents preferred the GOP on the economy by "a whopping 46%-30% margin."
- By Oct. 15, 42% said the Republican Party is better able to manage the federal government, compared with 39% for the Democrats.
- Pew, in reading voters preferences for the U.S. House in 2014, gives the Democrats a modest six-point edge nationally over the GOP. Kohut writes that the Democrats had the same advantage in 2009, but ended up losing six Senate and 63 House seats in 2010.
Is the pollster correct? Is the GOP in better shape nationally than it has appeared? Tell us in the comments below.
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