By
Eitan Arom
April 13, 2015 at 3:41 pm ET
Just two words can make all the difference. In this case, the operative descriptors are: Republican controlled.
A recent Morning Consult poll on how voters view the first 100 days of the 114th Congress shows just how much partisanship colors the lens through which Americans view the legislature.
The survey split respondents into two groups. The first group was asked whether they had a favorable or unfavorable opinion of how the current Congress has handled issues of health, energy, finance and technology in its first 100 days.
The other half received a survey asking them to give their opinion on the “Republican-controlled” Congress.
The difference was significant.
On health and finance, GOP voters were more than twice as likely to have a favorable opinion if they were asked about the Republican-controlled Congress.
Health issues showed the widest gap. Without the reminder that Republicans were in charge of both chambers on Capitol Hill, 26 percent of Republican voters said they have a favorable opinion of Congress’s handling of health issues so far this year. Sixty-three percent have an unfavorable opinion.
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But what happens when you slip the words “Republican-controlled” into the question? A near total reversal: 59 percent of Republican voters have a favorable opinion while 27 percent have an unfavorable one.
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The jump in approval occurred across all four issue areas. When primed with the reminder, Republicans with a favorable view of Congress jumped 33 percentage points on health issues, 24 percentage points on energy, 32 percentage points on finance and 27 percentage points on technology.
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Democrats saw a similar move in the opposite direction, though not as drastic. Primed with “Republican-controlled,” Democratic voters rating Congress favorably fell 3 percentage points on health issues, 4 percentage points for energy and finance and a single percentage point for tech.
You can find more coverage of Congress’s first 100 days from Morning Consult reporters in health, finance, technology and energy.
This poll was conducted from April 5-7 among a national sample of 2,047 registered voters. Results from the full survey have a margin of error of plus or minus 2 percentage points.