ABC News/Washington Post Pre-Election Poll #1, October 2006

This special topic poll, conducted October 19-22, 2006, is
part of a continuing series of monthly surveys that solicit public
opinion on the current 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 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 followed the
congressional elections, 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 absentee 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 congressional elections, whether things in
the country were generally going in the right direction, whether their
reason for voting for a candidate for Congress included showing
support for George W. Bush, which political party they trusted to do a
better job handling issues such as the situation in Iraq and the
economy, and whether they thought a change of control from the
Republicans to the Democrats would be a good thing. Information was
collected on whether respondents had been contacted by any
organization working in support of a candidate for Congress and which
political party they were asked to vote for, whether the 2006
congressional elections were more important to the country than past
elections, and whether the war with Iraq was worth fighting.
Additional questions asked how much Congress should be blamed for
problems relating to the war with Iraq, how much credit Congress
should get for preventing terrorist attacks, whether respondents felt
optimistic about the situation in Iraq, and if the United States had
the same kind of involvement in the war with Iraq as it did the
Vietnam war. Demographic variables include sex, age, religion, race,
education level, household income, labor union membership, voter
registration and participation history, political party affiliation,
political philosophy, employment status, marital status, and type of
residential area (e.g., urban or rural).