Voters prefer GOP handle most important issues

A new Gallup survey “asked registered voters to rate the importance of 13 issues to their vote for Congress, and then to indicate which party would do a better job on each issue.” Voters revealed that they prefer Republicans on seven of the 13 issues and Democrats on just four. Gallup,

“The Republicans in Congress hold significant leads over the Democrats on four of the six issues that U.S. registered voters say are most important in determining how they will vote in November: the economy, the way the federal government is working, the situation with Islamic militants in Iraq and Syria, and the federal budget deficit. Democrats, by contrast, top their Republican rivals on just one of the six: “equal pay for women.” …

The 13 issues measured in the new poll include eight that appeared in a Gallup Poll conducted in April, before the midterm campaign season came into full bloom, plus five new ones. In total, six issues were rated above the average of 69%, in terms of the percentage of voters saying they are extremely or very important to their vote:

1. the economy (88%)
2. the availability of good jobs (86%)
3. the way the federal government is working (81%)
4. the situation with Islamic militants in Iraq and Syria (78%)
5. equal pay for women (75%) and
6. the federal budget deficit (73%)

On the No. 1 issue, the economy, Republicans have more than doubled their April lead over Democrats, to 11 percentage points.”