The ANES Guide to Public Opinion and Electoral Behavior
Approval of Performance of Congress 1980-2016
| '80 | '82 | '84 | '86 | '88 | '90 | '92 | '94 | '96 | '98 | '00 | '02 | '04 | '08 | '12 | '16 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Approve | 34 (472) |
34 (485) |
53 (1025) |
44 (965) |
52 (917) |
36 (710) |
28 (631) |
32 (572) |
46 (774) |
48 (610) |
52 (939) |
64 (931) |
46 (563) |
26 (593) |
21 (1252) |
25 (1066) |
| Disapprove | 48 (672) |
49 (697) |
35 (672) |
38 (820) |
34 (603) |
55 (1077) |
63 (1416) |
60 (1078) |
47 (792) |
43 (549) |
33 (595) |
34 (492) |
40 (484) |
63 (1451) |
74 (4307) |
72 (3063) |
| Don't Know | 18 (257) |
17 (235) |
12 (229) |
18 (384) |
14 (249) |
9 (185) |
9 (196) |
8 (139) |
8 (134) |
9 (110) |
15 (262) |
2 (36) |
14 (165) |
11 (264) |
5 (292) |
3 (121) |
| N | 1401 | 1417 | 1926 | 2169 | 1769 | 1972 | 2243 | 1789 | 1700 | 1269 | 1796 | 1459 | 1212 | 2308 | 5851 | 4250 |
Percentage Within Study Year
Table 5C.4.
Question Text:
"Do you approve or disapprove of the way the U.S. Congress has been handling its job?"
Percent among demographic groups who responded:
Note:
2012 and 2016 data are for the combined (face-to-face and internet) sample.
For 2012, the 'Don't Know/Other' category represents face-to-face Don't Know cases only (in the 2012 Web instrument, a Don't Know category was not present).
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