Andrew Kohut: “Tucked away in recent polls–which have documented the extraordinary anger directed at the Republican Party during the shutdown crisis–are measures of clear disappointment with the Democratic Party. The disappointment is substantial, and it raises big questions about the 2014 midterms.”
“One clear troubling sign for the Democrats at this early stage is independent voters, who decide most elections. They are evenly divided, according to Pew’s mid-October survey: 43% say that “if the elections for Congress were being held today,” they would vote for the Republican candidate in their district, 43% say they would vote for the Democratic candidate.”
“It is not too much of an oversimplification to say that Democrats are struggling because President Obama is struggling.”

