A majority of likely U.S. voters believe it will be better for the country if the 117th Congress works with the incoming Biden administration, a Rasmussen Reports survey released Friday showed.
“Is it better for the country if the new Congress works with President-elect Joe Biden most of the time or opposes the president most of the time?” the survey asked.
Fifty-three percent of likely U.S. voters said it will be “better for the country if Congress works with Biden most of the time,” while just over one-third, or 35 percent, said it would be better if it opposes. Twelve percent remain unsure.
However, opinions are drastically connected to party affiliation, with 81 percent of Democrats saying it is better for Congress to work with Biden and 57 percent of Republicans expressing the belief that it is better for Congress to oppose.
“Among voters unaffiliated with either major party, 50% say it’s better for Congress to work with Biden and 36% say it’s better if Congress opposes the president,” the survey found.
Further:
Regardless of party, most voters don’t expect the newly-elected Congress to be an improvement. Twenty-four percent (24%) say the new Congress will be worse than the previous Congress, while 21% say it will be better, 40% say it will be about the same, and 15% are not sure. Republicans are more likely to say Congress will be worse, but 38% of GOP voters expect it to be about the same, agreeing with 36% of Democrats and 50% of unaffiliated voters.
The survey, conducted January 4-5 among 1,000 likely U.S. voters, has a margin of error of +/- 3 percent.
Sentiments aside, Congress will likely work hand in hand with the Biden administration, as Democrats Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff defeated their respective GOP incumbents in the dual Senate runoff elections in Georgia, splitting the Senate 50-50, thereby giving the power to the party in the White House, which will be a Biden administration.