American voters unhappy at high unemployment are poised to oust President Barack Obama's Democrats from control of the US House of Representatives in next month's elections, a new Reuters-Ipsos poll shows.
The national poll found that Americans by a margin of 48 per cent to 44 per cent plan to vote for Republicans over Democratic candidates, an edge that is likely to allow Republicans to pick up dozens of seats in the House and make big gains in the US Senate.
Ipsos pollster Cliff Young said the poll numbers show Republicans would win around 227 seats in the House to 208 for the Democrats.
In the Senate, the poll suggests Democrats would retain control by 52 to 48 seats, a smaller advantage than they have now, Young said.
A split Congress could mean political gridlock in 2011 as the United States struggles to overcome high unemployment, the gaping budget deficit and a fierce debate over tax cuts. Much will depend on whether Obama and Republicans can work together.
In a punctuation mark to a tough political year for the Democrats, Mr Obama's approval ratings dropped to 43 per cent from 47 per cent last month, with 53 per cent disapproving of the way he is handling his job, according to the poll.
Those were the worst approval numbers for Mr Obama in an Ipsos poll since Mr Obama took office in January 2009.
It appeared that much of this drop came from Mr Obama's own Democrats. The poll found Democrats' ratings of Mr Obama have dropped from 78 per cent approval last month to 70 per cent this month.
All 435 House seats and 37 of the 100-member Senate are up for grabs in the elections, the outcome of which is likely to help determine the course of the second half of Obama's four-year term.
"Looking forward, voters expect the new Congress to deal basically with jobs. A new Republican House would have to have answers to those demands," said Mr Young.
There was little change since last month in terms of the most important problems facing Americans -- 49 per cent said it is the economy and the 9.6 per cent jobless rate.
Americans believe the focus of the next Congress should be on jobs. Among those surveyed, 65 per cent said creating jobs should be a "crucial" focus and 97 per cent said it is important.
Besides jobs, Americans would like to see Congress focused on the soaring budget deficit, healthcare, taxes and energy. Of least importance on this list, although still deemed fairly important, were the environment and the war in Afghanistan.
Reuters