WASHINGTON — Since 1976, more than 90 percent of incumbents in the House of Representatives have won re-election, and new signs suggest that’s likely to happen again in November, despite the widespread public anger at Washington.
A new Pew Research Center/National Journal poll found that people still like their own members of Congress far more than they like Congress itself. The institution’s approval ratings long have been dismal, and the latest survey found that only 13 percent gave it good or excellent marks.
Yet when people were asked their views of their own representatives, the approval number jumped — 28 percent gave them excellent or good ratings. Nearly half said they liked their lawmakers’ judgment on issues, and 43 percent said their representatives are in touch with constituents back home and can help bring about change in Washington.
The Pew poll’s findings add fuel to the argument that even in a year when the outspoken tea party movement has dominated political dialogue, “odds are very high that 90 percent or better of incumbents will be re-elected,” said Larry Sabato, director of the University of Virginia Center for Politics, who tracks congressional races.
Since 1976, the re-election rate for House incumbents has been above 90 percent every election except in 1992, when it dipped to 88 percent, according to the Center for Responsive Politics, a nonpartisan research group.
Democrats control 255 of the 435 House seats and 59 of the 100 Senate seats. All House seats are up for election, as are 37 Senate seats, 19 of them now held by Democrats and 18 by Republicans.
Republicans need a net gain of 39 House seats to control the House, and 10 Senate seats to win a majority there.
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