OHIO — The majority of Ohioans would like the upcoming midterm elections to result in their own political party dominating both the Senate and House of Representatives, according to two recent Spectrum News/Siena College Research Institute polls.
The most recent poll, released Monday, and the previous poll conducted in mid-September, each asked more than 640 likely Ohio voters to share their opinions about candidates and issues they’ll decide in November.
Out of 41% total voters in September and 40% in October who said they want a Republican-controlled Congress, 84% in September were Republican voters and 79% in October, polls showed.
Of 31% total respondents in September and 33% in October who prefer a Democratic-controlled Congress, Democrats made up 81% in September and 79% in October.
Only 22% of respondents in both polls said they want a divided Congress in which one party controls the House and the other controls the Senate, the polls showed.
“I think that there was a day in American politics where the idea of checks and balances, the division between the two chambers, scored a lot higher,” said Siena College Director Don Levy, Ph.D.
Levy pointed to independents as the “remnants” of that trend, for whom 33% in September and 32% in October indicated they prefer a divided congress.
Of Black voters polled in September, only 7% said they want a Republican-controlled Congress. That percentage dropped to zero in the October poll.
White voters consistently leaned Republican, with 46% in both polls preferring a Republican-controlled Congress, polls showed. White voters, preferring Democratic control, rose from 27% in September to 29% in October.
Republican control was more popular with men, who came in nearly 20 points higher than women in both polls for a GOP Senate and House.
In the earlier poll, 50% of men preferred a GOP-controlled Congress, dropping only a point in October to 49%. Polls showed women in favor of a Republican Congress at 30% in September, rising to 32% in October.
Men were at significantly lower percentages than women in favoring either a Democratic Congress or a divided Congress.
In September, 27% of men indicated they want a Democratic Congress, dropping to 24% in the later poll. Those favoring a divided Congress came in at 19%, in September but rose slightly to 22% in October.
Women who prefer a Democratic-controlled Congress increased from 36% in September to 41%. in October, while those preferring a balanced Congress dropped from 27% to 22%.
In similar polls, voters are sometimes asked if want their representatives to reach across the aisle and work collaboratively with the other party, Levy said. Respondents often indicate they would.
“When we framed it this way, when we framed it in terms of control, they ran home to their party,” he said. “So it’s a sign, I think, of the disturbingly high levels of partisanship that we have.”
At 48% in September, Ohio’s youngest voters leaned more heavily than older voters toward a balanced Congress. That percentage fell back to 32% in October for this demographic but still outweighed all other age groups, polls showed.
Those 65 and older who leaned GOP were fairly consistent across the polls, with 47% in September and 45% in October preferring a Republican Congress.
Of the same demographic, those leaning toward Democratic control of Congress jumped from 27% in the earlier poll to 36% in October.
Voters with higher incomes leaned more heavily Republican, the polls showed.
In September, 43% of those polled making more than $100,000 far outweighed those in the same income bracket preferring a Democratic Congress at 35%. In October, the higher-wage earners came in at 41% Republican and 36% Democratic.
The region of Ohio leaning most Republican for makeup of Congress was the east/southeast in both polls, coming in at 47% and 49%, the polls showed.
The northeast region of Ohio, with 39% of voters, leaned the most Democratic in September, although in October, at 38%, central Ohio edged out the northeast by 2 points.
