Washington, D.C. — A new Center for American Progress Action Fund and GBA Strategies battleground survey of Republican-held congressional districts finds that the culture of corruption under Republican control of Washington has dramatically shifted the political landscape. In these districts where Republican candidates dominated by an average of 14 percentage points over the past two cycles, Democrats now lead by 4 percentage points.
The poll finds that 54 percent of voters across 48 Republican-held congressional districts believe “Republicans are more corrupt than Democrats” and that 49 percent of voters perceive the Trump administration as “more corrupt than previous administrations.” On Congress, the survey finds that 56 percent of voters believe that Republicans have abandoned their oversight role, allowing scandals to persist, such as former Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt spending more than $100,000 on taxpayer-funded airfare. Moreover, there is a widespread perception that the Republican tax bill was an example of self-dealing, as highlighted recently by Rep. Vern Buchanan (R-FL) buying himself a new $3 million yacht after voting to give himself a multimillion-dollar tax cut.
“House Speaker Paul Ryan has all but bragged that he doesn’t pay attention to the Republican corruption in Washington, but the American people are,” said Navin Nayak, executive director of the Center for American Progress Action Fund. “The Republican tax bill had huge giveaways for corporations and political donors, while the middle class got stuck with skyrocketing health care premiums. Voters are looking for somebody to be a check on this out-of-control corruption.”
Read the full memo here.
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