Gallup: American Preference for Divided Government Lowest in 15 Years
September 29, 2016
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According to a recent Gallup poll, D. C. gridlock and "do nothing Congress" accusations seem to have taken its toll on Americans' preference for divided government. Just 20% of Americans now prefer the presidency and Congress to be controlled by different parties...the lowest it's been in 15 years.
Gallup reports:
One in five Americans believe it is best for the president to be from one political party and for Congress to be controlled by another, the lowest level of public support for divided government in Gallup's 15-year trend. The remainder are evenly divided between those who favor one party controlling both the presidency and Congress (36%) and those saying it makes no difference how political power is allocated (36%). Americans' current preference for one party controlling both the presidency and Congress is near the record high of 38% from four years ago. That fits with a pattern of heightened support for single-party control seen in the past two presidential election years. In 2004, the preferences were more evenly divided. These results are based on Gallup's annual Governance poll, conducted Sept. 7-11.