ABC News/Washington Post Pre-Election Poll #2, November 2006

This poll, conducted November 1-4, 2006, is part of a continuing series of monthly surveys that solicit public opinion on the presidency and on a range of other political and social issues. Respondents were asked whether they approved of the way George W. Bush was handling his job as president, whether they approved of the way the United States Congress and their own representative in Congress was handling their job, and to rate the condition of the national economy. Registered voters were asked whether they were following the upcoming congressional mid-term elections on November 7, 2006, whether they were likely to vote, and which candidate they would vote for if the election were being held that day. Registered voters who had already voted were asked which candidate they voted for, how enthusiastic they were about their vote, and whether their vote was more for one political party, or more against the other political party. Opinions were solicited on what was the most important issue in the vote for Congress, whether things in the country were generally going in the right direction, whether their reason for voting for Congress included showing support for George W. Bush, and which political party they trusted to do a better job handling issues such as the situation in Iraq and the economy. Information was collected on whether respondents had been contacted by any organization working in support of a candidate for Congress and if so, which political party they were asked to vote for, which political party best represented their own personal values, and whether the war with Iraq was worth fighting. Demographic variables include sex, age, religious preference, race, education level, voter registration and participation history, political party affiliation, political philosophy, marital status, whether anyone in the household was a veteran, and type of residential area (e.g., urban or rural).