Voter Approval of Congress Hits Record High

A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone and online survey finds that 28% of Likely U.S. Voters rate Congress’ performance as good or excellent, up from 25% in December and the highest approval in more than 15 years of polling this question.

Thirty-nine percent (39%) think Congress is doing a poor job, down from 45% in December, and the lowest since March 2007. (To see survey question wording, click here.)

Not only do voters now have a higher opinion of Congress in general, but of their own representatives. Forty percent (40%) believe their representative in Congress is the best possible person for the job. That’s up from 30% in April 2022, and the highest in the history of surveying on this question.

hirty-nine percent (39%) of voters now say their representative in Congress is not the best possible person for the job, and 21% are not sure.

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The survey of 1,000 U.S. Likely Voters was conducted on February 26-28, 2023 by Rasmussen Reports. The margin of sampling error is +/- 3 percentage points with a 95% level of confidence. Field work for all Rasmussen Reports surveys is conducted by Pulse Opinion Research, LLC. See methodology.

Far more Democrats (51%) than Republicans (36%) or voters not affiliated with either major party (33%) say their representative in Congress is the best possible person for the job.

Similarly, Democrats (44%) are significantly more likely than Republicans (21%) or unaffiliated voters (19%) to rate Congress as doing a good or excellent job. Congress gets a poor rating from 45% of Republicans, 27% of Democrats and 48% of unaffiliated voters.

Younger voters have a much more favorable view of Congress than do their elders. Fifty-five percent (55%) of voters under 40 rate Congress as doing a good or excellent job, compared to 17% of those ages 40 to 64, and just 14% of voters 65 and older. Likewise, while 57% of voters under 40 say their representative in Congress is the best possible person for the job, that view is shared by only 31% of those ages 40 to 64 and 35% of voters 65 and older.

Twenty-six percent (26%) of whites, 34% of black voters and 29% of other minorities give Congress a good or excellent rating. Fever black voters (31%) than whites (42%) or other minorities (39%) think their representative in Congress is the best possible person for the job.

Slightly more women voters (29%) than men (26%) rate Congress as doing a good or excellent job, but women are less likely than men to say their representative in Congress is the best possible person for the job.

College graduates are more likely to believe their congressional representative is the best for the job.

Breaking down the electorate by income, those in the highest bracket – earning more than $200,000 a year – are far more likely to give Congress a good or excellent rating, while Congress gets its worst ratings from those with annual incomes between $30,000 and $50,000.

President Joe Biden’s strongest supporters have the highest opinion of how Congress is doing its job. Among voters who Strongly Approve of Biden’s job performance as president, 46% rate Congress as doing a good or excellent job. By contrast, among those who Strongly Disapprove of Biden’s performance, just 16% give Congress a good or excellent rating, and 53% rate Congress as doing a poor job.

Recent reports confirming that the COVID-19 virus probably came from a Chinese lab don’t surprise most voters, who suspect U.S. officials may have been involved in a cover-up.

Crime has emerged as a major political issue, and voters overwhelmingly disagree with controversial “bail reform” measures that return criminals to the streets.

Additional information from this survey and a full demographic breakdown are available to Platinum Members only.

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