As midterm elections loom, it’s no secret that a great number of Americans are unhappy with Congress. But do they trust their representatives?
According to at least one new poll, the answer is an emphatic “no”.
A recent Gallup survey asked respondents how much trust and confidence they have in the legislative branch of government. The results were a historical low for the polling firm. Only 36% of Americans indicated they have either a great deal or fair amount of trust and confidence in the branch, down from the previous all-time low of 45% in September 2009. The question has been posed annually by the pollster since 2001, and sporadic results from the 1990s and 1970s also exist.
To put this in context of past midterm election years: 2006 saw 56% of Americans saying they trusted the legislative branch, 2002 had 67% expressing that sentiment, and in 1998, 61% said they trusted it. At the time of the 1974 midterm elections, the poll yielded a 68% level of trust from the public.
As Gallup notes, “the substantial drop in Americans’ trust in the legislative branch of government reflects the same underlying attitudes that have resulted in low congressional job approval ratings and a number of other indicators underscoring the public’s disenchantment with its elected representatives.”
The pollster continues that “the overall record-low levels of trust in the legislative branch undergird the expectation that voters this fall may be attempting to express their frustrations with Congress by voting out incumbents and/or members of the incumbent party.”
Gallup also asked respondents to indicate whether have trust in the executive and the judicial branches of government. The results show noteworthy declines from the amount of trust registered this time last year — 49% of those polled said they have a great deal or fair amount of trust in the executive branch, compared to 61% last year, while 66% said they trusted the judicial branch, versus 76% in 2009.
The TPM Poll Average for US Congressional Approval reiterates these latest findings. Currently, disapproval is at 72.2%, while approval is only at 22.0%. For the US Congressional Generic ballot, the TPM Poll Average finds Republicans leading Democrats 46.8%-43.1%.
