Obama Poll: Voters Are Angry, Mostly Disapprove Of President Before Midterm Elections

Nearly seven in 10 voters are angry at the direction the country is headed, a CNN/ORC International poll indicates. And 53 percent of the poll’s respondents say they disapprove of President Obama’s job performance.

The poll’s results may be troubling for the Democrats prior to November’s midterm elections, as they try to keep a Senate majority and stem losses in the House where they are currently outnumbered by Republicans 234 to 201. The GOP needs six seats to win a Senate majority, with a number of polls indicating they are close to doing just that, and gaining full control of Congress.

The poll indicated 68 percent of Americans were either “very” or “somewhat angry” over the country’s leadership while 31 percent said they were not angry at all. CNN said anger could send GOP supporters to the polls like they did in 2010, when polls indicated similar emotions. Only 26 percent of self-identified Democrats told CNN they were “very” or “extremely enthusiastic” about voting this year, while 36 percent of Republicans said they were.

The only places where a majority of voters held a positive opinion of Obama’s job performance were the Northeast (51 percent) and urban areas (60 percent). The states that will determine the Senate majority are in other areas of the country, however, such as the South, where three Democrats are campaigning for re-election, as well as the Midwest and West.

Democratic seats in Montana, South Dakota and West Virginia are expected to be won by Republicans, meaning the GOP only needs three more seats to take back a majority. Only 13 percent of Americans approve of Congress while 85 percent disapprove.

Pollsters queried 1,018 adults last Thursday through Saturday. The survey had a 3-point margin of error.