Republicans gain trust on immigration, Dems still have edge on ten key issues
rasmussenreports.com
1 hour, 5 minutes ago




Voters continue to trust Democrats more than Republicans on ten key issues tracked by Rasmussen Reports. In fact, the latest tracking update on five of these issues shows Democrats gaining ground modestly on four of the five issues. However, there is one major exception to the trend—immigration. ADVERTISEMENT

A month ago, the Democrats had a fourteen-point advantage on the immigration issue. Following the Senate debate, the Democrats' advantage has been cut to five points. Forty percent (40%) of voters now trust Democrats more than Republicans on immigration while 35% have more confidence in the GOP. The Republicans still lag Democrats on this issue, but they lag on every issue. Immigration is now tied with taxes as the GOP's strongest issue. It's also the only issue on which unaffiliated voters trust Republicans more than Democrats.

What's especially interesting about this trend is that the Republican Party gained while the President's Job Approval ratings have fallen to new lows (down to 36% for the full month of May. That's three points lower than any previous month). The President, of course, has been strongly supportive of the immigration bill that was more popular in Congress than among the general public.

Several other political leaders identified with the Senate Immigration bill have been hurt politically by it. Arizona Senator John McCain (news, bio, voting record), once seen as the dominant frontrunner for the GOP nomination, has fallen to fourth place in the polls. He is viewed favorably by just 47% of voters in his home state. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid's favorables have fallen to 19%. Reid was viewed favorably by 26% before the immigration debate began and by 30% in February.

While Republicans gained ground on immigration, Democrats gained a net two points on the economy, four points on national security, four points on the War in Iraq, and five points on Government Ethics and Corruption. (see prior update). A separate survey found that most Americans believe most members of Congress will sell their vote for cash or campaign contributions. Other issues tracked by Rasmussen Reports will be updated in a separate wave of polling.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/rasmussen/20070 ... 20070611_1