Congress

Currently, 75% of Americans disapprove of the job being done by Congress, while 15% approve. s [CBS/NYT 1/10/16]

Americans disapprove of the job being done by Democrats in Congress by 65% to 28%, and they disapprove of the job being done by Republicans in Congress by 78% to 15%. [Quinnipiac University 12/20/15]

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The House

The 2016 election is about 10 months from now. Any prospect of the Democrats’ taking back control of the House has not really improved since the last issue of the Watch. As it stands now, the Republicans can hold the House without a whole lot of effort. All they need to do is hold the’ Safe’ Republican seats and 11 of the 13 seats that are “Likely Republican.” (As usual, The Cook Political Report is the source of the data below.)

• Democrats 188
• Republicans 246
• Vacancy 1

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The Senate

At the moment a two-seat pickup by the Democrats seems possible. Senator Mark Kirk (R) in Illinois and Senator Ron Johnson (R) in Wisconsin seem to have a hard road to re-election. After those races, the task gets more difficult for the Democrats.

Many folks suggest that Senator Kelly Ayotte (R) is also vulnerable. So far, public polls find her leading Democratic Governor Maggie Hassan. Ayotte has been taking steps to separate some of her positions from those of her Party.

The possible outcome is likely to be heavily affected by the nature of the Presidential candidates who will also be on the ballot and driving turnout.

• Republicans 54
• Democrats 44
• Independents 2

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