US elections: Poll says Independents siding with GOP, rather than Democrats

WASHINGTON - Republicans are on the verge of broad wins next week, as independent voters are ready to boot Democrats from office, according to a new Politico/George Washington University Battleground Poll.

Expressing deep dissatisfaction with President Obama’s policies and performance, independents have increasingly sided with conservatives in the belief that government has grown too large and too fast under Obama.

In the final pre-election Battleground Poll, Republicans hold a 14-point edge among independents and lead overall, 47 percent to 42 percent, in the generic ballot match up.

The swing among independents rivals the emergence of the spirited Tea Party movement as one of the most important changes in American politics over the past 20 months.

Many other polls have confirmed this trend over that period, even though it has been vastly overshadowed by coverage of more provocative characters and themes on the right.

The poll found independents distrustful of the president and his administration.

It’s the flight of independents that presents the biggest challenge for Democrats.

Independents helped lift Democrats to power in 2006 and pushed Obama into office in 2008.

Many of the independents who fell out of love with Obama have not fallen in love with Republicans: only 30 percent of independents think Republicans have offered more specific solutions than Democrats this year (compared to 39 percent in the full survey).

This is the third in a series of bipartisan polls conducted for Politico and the George Washington University as part of the nearly 20-year-old Battleground survey.

The poll, which surveyed 1,000 likely voters nationally between October 17 and October 20, was conducted and analyzed by two respected pollsters, Democrat Celinda Lake of Lake Research Partners and Republican Ed Goeas of The Tarrance Group.

It has a margin of error of 3.1 percent. (ANI)