October 22, 1998 - Connecticut Voters Approve Clinton, Not Congress Quinnipiac College Poll Finds; Franks Loses More Ground To Dodd Connecticut's registered voters approve of the job Bill Clinton is doing as President, 58 - 39 percent, while they give the U.S. Congress a negative 40 - 54 percent approval, according to a Quinnipiac College Poll released today. Clinton's approval rating is identical to his rating in an October 2, 1998, poll but down from a 64 - 32 percent approval in a June 25 poll by the independent Quinnipiac College. Congress' approval has dropped from 44 - 49 percent in the October 2 poll. Only 24 percent of voters say Congress should impeach and remove Clinton from office, while 38 percent say Congress should censure him and 35 percent say Congress should drop the matter. By a 64 - 33 percent margin, voters say Clinton should finish his term, not resign. If a candidate for the House of Representatives or Senate says he/she would vote to impeach Clinton, 12 percent of Connecticut voters say they would be more likely to vote for that candidate, while 32 percent say they would be less likely and 53 percent say the impeachment position would not make a difference. "In the wake of the House of Representatives' vote to begin an impeachment inquiry of the President, Congress' approval rating is down slightly. The President's approval rating remains above the 50 percent mark, but nowhere near the levels voters give Democratic Senators Joseph Lieberman and Christopher Dodd, and Republican Gov. John Rowland," said Quinnipiac College Poll Director Douglas Schwartz. Sen. Lieberman has a 70 - 16 percent approval rating among Connecticut's registered voters, while Sen. Dodd has a 62 - 27 percent approval. "The dip in Congress' approval numbers can't be good news for Republican leaders trying to strengthen their hold on Congress. We find, however, that voters usually approve of their own Senator or Representative, while they disapprove of `Congress' the institution," Schwartz said. Senate Race Democratic incumbent Sen. Christopher Dodd holds a 61 - 29 percent lead over Republican challenger Gary Franks among likely voters, widening the 54 - 34 percent lead he held in the October 2 Quinnipiac College Poll. "Gary Franks has fallen further behind in his race to unseat Sen. Dodd. Frank's recognition is up, but the more voters have gotten to know him, the less they like him," Schwartz said. "Dodd, on the other hand, continues to be popular among registered voters with a better than 2 - 1 favorability rating." By a 52 - 8 percent margin, Connecticut voters have a favorable opinion of Sen. Joseph Lieberman, with 21 percent mixed and 18 percent saying they don't know enough to form an opinion. Favorability for other leaders is: Favorable Unfavorable Mixed No Opinion Dodd 49 21 22 8 Franks 15 27 19 38 Vice President Al Gore 30 25 30 13 From October 13 - 19, Quinnipiac College surveyed 1,247 Connecticut registered voters, including 683 likely voters. The poll has a margin of error of +/- 2.8 percent for registered voters and +/- 3.8 percent for likely voters. The Quinnipiac College Poll conducts public opinion surveys in New York, New Jersey and Connecticut as a public service and for research. For additional data -- www.quinnipiac.edu 2. Do you approve or disapprove of the way Joseph Lieberman is handling his job as United States Senator? Oct 2 Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom 1998 Approve 70% 70% 68% 72% 72% 69% 71% Disapprove 16 16 18 14 18 14 17 DK/NA 14 14 14 13 11 17 12 3. Do you approve or disapprove of the way Christopher Dodd is handling his job as United States Senator? Oct 2 Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom 1998 Approve 62% 42% 82% 62% 59% 65% 60% Disapprove 27 45 13 27 32 23 27 DK/NA 11 14 6 11 9 12 12 4. Do you approve or disapprove of the way Bill Clinton is handling his job as President? Oct 2 Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom 1998 Approve 58% 33% 83% 58% 54% 62% 58% Disapprove 39 65 15 38 43 35 40 DK/NA 3 2 2 4 3 4 2 5. Do you approve or disapprove of the way the United States Congress is handling its job? Oct 2 Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom 1998 Approve 40% 60% 29% 35% 40% 40% 44% Disapprove 54 36 67 58 56 52 49 DK/NA 6 5 4 7 4 8 47 12. Is your opinion of Christopher Dodd favorable, unfavorable, mixed, or haven't you heard enough about him? Oct 2 Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom 1998 Favorable 49% 23% 70% 50% 46% 51% 45% Unfavorable 21 38 9 18 25 17 21 Mixed 22 28 15 23 21 22 22 Haven't heard enough 8 12 6 7 7 9 11 REFUSED 1 - - 1 1 1 1 13. Is your opinion of Gary Franks favorable, unfavorable, mixed, or haven't you heard enough about him? Oct 2 Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom 1998 Favorable 15% 30% 7% 13% 21% 10% 19% Unfavorable 27 16 38 26 26 27 19 Mixed 19 20 17 21 19 19 13 Haven't heard enough 38 35 37 40 33 42 48 REFUSED 1 - 1 1 1 1 1 14. If the 1998 election for United States Senator were being held today and the candidates were Gary Franks the Republican and Christopher Dodd the Democrat, for whom would you vote? Oct 2 Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom 1998 Christopher Dodd 62% 30% 84% 65% 58% 65% 59% Gary Franks 24 53 5 21 30 20 26 SOMEONE ELSE (VOL) 1 1 1 1 2 1 1 WON'T VOTE (VOL) 2 2 1 2 1 3 2 DK/NA 11 14 8 11 9 12 11 14. If the 1998 election for United States Senator were being held today and the candidates were Gary Franks the Republican and Christopher Dodd the Democrat, for whom would you vote? (Likely Voters) LIKELY VOTERS Oct 2 Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom 1998 Christopher Dodd 61% 27% 89% 63% 57% 64% 54% Gary Franks 29 62 4 26 34 25 34 SOMEONE ELSE (VOL) 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 DK/NA 9 11 7 10 8 11 11 15. Is your mind made up, or do you think you might change your mind before the election? LIKELY VOTERS Dodd Franks Voters Voters Mind made up 78% 79% Might change mind 22 21 16. Would you describe your support for (candidate's name) as strongly favoring him, you like him but with reservations, or do you support him because you dislike (other candidate's name)? LIKELY VOTERS Dodd Franks Voters Voters Strongly favor 59% 37% Like, but with reservations 33 36 Dislike other candidate 7 26 DK/NA 1 1 51. Is your opinion of Joseph Lieberman favorable, unfavorable, mixed, or haven't you heard enough about him? Oct 2 Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom 1998 Favorable 52% 51% 50% 55% 55% 50% 53% Unfavorable 8 8 12 7 11 6 10 Mixed 21 23 21 20 18 24 21 Haven't heard enough 18 17 17 17 15 20 16 REFUSED 1 - 1 1 1 - 1 52. Is your opinion of Al Gore favorable, unfavorable, mixed, or haven't you heard enough about him? Oct 2 Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom 1998 Favorable 30% 12% 51% 29% 27% 33% 31% Unfavorable 25 48 9 24 32 20 27 Mixed 30 30 27 32 28 33 29 Haven't heard enough 13 9 13 15 13 13 13 REFUSED 1 1 1 - - 1 1 53. And is your opinion of Bill Clinton favorable, unfavorable, mixed, or haven't you heard enough about him? Oct 2 Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom 1998 Favorable 35% 15% 60% 32% 36% 35% 35% Unfavorable 40 67 16 41 45 37 42 Mixed 23 17 24 26 19 27 22 Haven't heard enough - - - - - - - REFUSED 1 - - 1 1 1 1 54. Given what you know right now, do you think Congress should: (A) Impeach and remove President Clinton from office, (B) Censure President Clinton - that is formally criticize him, or (C) Drop the matter. Oct 2 Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom 1998 A) Impeach and remove President Clinton from office. 24% 46% 6% 23% 26% 22% 25% B) Censure President Clinton - that is formally criticize him. 38 32 42 39 38 38 37 C) Drop the matter 35 18 51 34 32 37 34 DK/NA 4 4 2 4 4 3 3 55. Given what you know right now, do you think it would be better for the country if Bill Clinton resigned from office, or do you think it would be better for the country if Bill Clinton finished his term as President? Oct 2 Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom 1998 Resigned from office 33% 55% 11% 35% 37% 31% 34% Finished his term 64 42 87 63 62 67 63 DK/NA 2 3 2 2 2 3 3 56. If a candidate for Congress or Senate says President Clinton should be impeached and removed from office, would that make you more likely to vote for that candidate, less likely or wouldn't it affect your vote? Oct 2 Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom 1998 More likely 12% 24% 5% 11% 14% 10% 14% Less likely 32 13 54 30 30 33 35 Wouldn't affect my vote 53 60 36 57 53 53 49 DK/NA 3 2 4 3 3 4 3 57. Do you think Bill Clinton can be trusted to keep his word as President, Oct 2 Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom 1998 Yes 50% 25% 78% 48% 45% 54% 50% No 45 73 17 47 51 40 46 DK/NA 5 2 5 5 4 5 5 58. Do you think Bill Clinton shares the moral values most Americans try to live by, or doesn't he? Oct 2 Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom 1998 Yes 25% 14% 41% 22% 25% 25% 26% No 66 83 48 69 68 65 67 DK/NA 9 3 11 9 7 10 6
