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Majority of Americans worried midterms will result in government gridlock: poll

by Julia Shapero - 10/01/22 6:57 PM ET

More than half of Americans in a new poll said they are worried that the midterm elections will result in government gridlock.

An Axios-Ipsos poll released on Saturday found that 53 percent were concerned about the potential for divided government and gridlock after November’s election. The poll defines divided government as divided control of Congress — with one party holding the House and another holding the Senate.

For Democrats, whose party currently controls both chambers of Congress, this is a slightly more pressing concern. Sixty-four percent of Democrats said they were worried about divided government and gridlock, compared to 51 percent of Republicans and 44 percent of Independents, according to the poll.

However, nearly half of Americans are also concerned about unified control of Congress, with 49 percent saying they would be worried if Democrats maintained both chambers and 46 percent saying they would be worried if Republicans held both.

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With just under 40 days left until the midterm elections, the race for control of Congress remains tight. The upcoming elections initially favored Republican candidates, but polling has showed Democrats surging in recent months.

A Yahoo News-YouGov poll released on Friday showed Democrats leading Republicans by 4 points in the generic congressional ballot. However, some Democrats have cautioned against putting too much faith in the polls, after being burned in 2016 and 2020.

The Axios-Ipsos poll was conducted on Sept. 23-26 with 1,008 adults and had a credibility interval of 3.8 percent.