Gallup: Unpopular presidents hurt their party in mid-terms

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Washington Examiner:

Gallup: Unpopular presidents hurt their party in mid-terms
By: BARBARA HOLLINGSWORTH
Local Opinion Editor
08/09/10 5:05 PM EDT

Gallup reports that since 1946, presidents going into mid-term elections with less than a 50 percent approval rating lose on average 36 seats in the House, compared to just 14 for those whose approval ratings are above 50 percent.

The popularity of the current occupant of the White House is critical, as the party of presidents with 60 percent-plus approval ratings lose just three seats on average.

President Obama’s 45 percent mid-term approval rating puts him below Jimmy Carter (49 percent in 1978) and smack dab between Bill Clinton (46 percent in 1994, when Democrats lost 53 seats and Republicans won control of the House for the first time in 50 years) and Lyndon Johnson (44 percent in 1966, when Democrats lost 47 seats).

Republicans currently need 39 House seats to retake control of that chamber, and if the historical trend continues, they may well get them.