Rasmussen Poll: Rep. McCarthy and His Opponents Share Responsibility for Congress’ Delay

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The start of Congress was delayed last week by the historic 15-ballot battle to elect Rep. Kevin McCarthy, R-California, as Speaker of the House. The standoff paralyzed the legislative branch of government, and Congress was unable to pass laws or provide services to voters.

McCarthy was eventually elected president after reaching an agreement with the 20 Republican members who had refused to vote for him in previous ballots.

Voters are divided on whether McCarthy or his opponents are most responsible for the delay, according to Rasmussen Reports’ latest national phone and online poll.

Thirty-nine percent of voters say McCarthy was more to blame for the standoff, while 39% said McCarthy’s GOP opponents were more to blame, and 22% aren’t sure.

The Rasmussen poll finds that 65% of likely U.S. voters said they thought the delayed start of Congress was a serious problem, including 33% who said it was very serious. Thirty-two percent do not consider the delay to be a serious problem, including 16% who say it is not serious at all.

Eighty-one percent of Democrats, 57% of Republicans and 54% of unaffiliated voters said the delay was at least a somewhat serious problem.

Forty-two percent of Republicans, 35% of Democrats and 40% of unaffiliated voters said McCarthy was more responsible for the delay caused by the president’s disputed election. Forty-one percent of Republicans, 39% of Democrats and 36% of unaffiliated voters placed more blame on Republican members of the House who refused to vote for McCarthy.

Voters 65 and older are more likely to view the delay in starting Congress as a very serious problem, and also more likely to blame McCarthy.

Voters who see the delay as a very serious problem are slightly more likely to blame McCarthy (40%) than Republicans who voted against McCarthy. Those who say the problem caused by the delay is not at all serious, however, are much more likely to blame McCarthy (60%) than his GOP opponents (24%).

President Joe Biden’s staunchest supporters are the most likely to view the Congressional backlog as a serious problem. Among voters who strongly approve of Biden’s performance as president, 54% say the delay was a very serious issue. In contrast, among those who strongly disapprove of Biden’s performance, only 19% see the lag as a very serious issue.

The survey of 900 likely US voters was conducted Jan. 5, 8, and 9 by Rasmussen Reports. The margin of sampling error is +/- 3 percentage points with a 95% confidence level. Fieldwork for all Rasmussen Reports surveys is performed by Pulse Opinion Research, LLC.

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