I’ve been trying to do this post for a few days (Rasmussen usually puts these numbers up before it does a formal article). Short version: eight out of ten for the GOP, but the Democrats made up lost territory across the board.
| Apr-10 | Mar-10 | ||||||
| Issue | Dem | GOP | Diff | Dem | GOP | Diff | Shift |
| Health Care | 41% | 48% | (7) | 37% | 53% | (16) | 9 |
| Education | 43% | 39% | 4 | 40% | 43% | (3) | 7 |
| Social Security | 40% | 42% | (2) | 36% | 48% | (12) | 10 |
| Abortion | 40% | 42% | (2) | 32% | 47% | (15) | 13 |
| Economy | 39% | 43% | (4) | 37% | 49% | (12) | 8 |
| Taxes | 36% | 51% | (15) | 34% | 52% | (18) | 3 |
| Iraq | 41% | 44% | (3) | 39% | 47% | (8) | 5 |
| Nat’l Security | 40% | 42% | (2) | 36% | 51% | (15) | 13 |
| Gov’t Ethics | 34% | 30% | 4 | 35% | 33% | 2 | 2 |
| Immigration | 38% | 41% | (3) | 34% | 47% | (13) | 10 |
For those wondering how this looks in general: compared to last year, pretty good.
| April-10 | May-09 | ||||||
| Issue | Dem | GOP | Diff | Dem | GOP | Diff | Shift |
| Health Care | 41% | 48% | (7) | 53% | 35% | 18 | (25) |
| Education | 43% | 39% | 4 | 49% | 36% | 13 | (9) |
| Social Security | 40% | 42% | (2) | 48% | 39% | 9 | (11) |
| Abortion | 40% | 42% | (2) | 41% | 41% | – | (2) |
| Economy | 39% | 43% | (4) | 44% | 43% | 1 | (5) |
| Taxes | 36% | 51% | (15) | 41% | 47% | (6) | (9) |
| Iraq | 41% | 44% | (3) | 41% | 43% | (2) | (1) |
| Nat’l Security | 40% | 42% | (2) | 41% | 48% | (7) | 5 |
| Gov’t Ethics | 34% | 30% | 4 | 40% | 29% | 11 | (7) |
| Immigration | 38% | 41% | (3) | 36% | 37% | (1) | (2) |
The monthly results have tended towards both wholesale shifts to the Democrats, and wholesale shifts to the Republicans: but over the last year the Democrats have largely worsened their reputation with the electorate in everything except national security (which makes sense, as until quite recently this administration’s policies have been not the subject of as much opposition criticism). A couple of good months for the Democrats will wipe out their long-term damage; it remains to be seen whether that will happen.
Moe Lane
Crossposted to Moe Lane.
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