President Obama’s approval numbers have improved slightly in a new poll, which could be one reason Democrats have re-taken the lead in a generic congressional ballot.
According to a new national poll from Raleigh-based Public Policy Polling, Barack Obama’s approval rating is now at 43 percent, with 51 percent disapproving.
“Those still aren’t very good numbers, but they’re the best we’ve found for him since October,” says Director of Public Policy Polling Tom Jensen. “He had, in the interim, hit his record low at 41 percent.
“And it does seem that people are warming up, at least a little bit, to Obamacare.”
Thirty-nine percent of voters now think the rollout of the Affordable Care Act has been successful. That’s up seven points from the last PPP survey in late January.
Democrats may also appear to have reason for optimism regarding the U.S House, but Jensen throws a little cold water on that notion.
After trailing Republicans 42-to-40 on a generic Congressional ballot in January, Democrats have now reclaimed a small lead, at 43-to-40.
“The problem for Democrats,” says Jensen, “even though they have this small lead on the generic congressional ballot, is that because congressional district lines across the country and a lot of states are really drawn in a way that benefits the Republicans, Democrats would have to win by a lot more than three points in order to have a real chance at getting back control of the House this fall.”
In another PPP poll released this week, numbers for U.S. Senator Kay Hagan of North Carolina also showed a slight improvement.
She now leads presumed Republican frontrunner, NC House Speaker Thom Tillis, 45-to-43. In the previous poll, she trailed all Republican challengers except for one.
