Obama dips, GOP Congress up: Poll

President Barack Obama’s approval rating has hit a new low and a majority of voters would prefer to see Republicans in charge of Congress to check the administration’s policies, a new poll says.

According to a new Washington Post-ABC News poll, Obama’s approval rating stands at 41 percent, the lowest mark of his presidency in the Post-ABC polls. The survey reports that just 34 percent of Americans approve of Obama’s handling of the situation in Russia and Ukraine and 37 percent approve of his handling of the implementation of the Affordable Care Act. The poll comes as the president and both parties gear up for what should be a contentious 2014 midterm elections.

Just 8 percent of voters believe their health care costs have decreased due to the changes in the law, whereas 47 percent think their health care costs have gone up.

Still, Democrats score better than Republicans in a number of core areas. Voters say that they trust Democrats to better handle the main problems facing the US (40-34 percent), the economy (41-38 percent) and health care (43-35 percent). Voters also gave Democrats a 20-point edge in who they trust to help the middle class, with 52 percent of voters saying they trust the Democrats and just 32 percent saying they trust Republicans.

The Democrats also have a 30 percent edge on women’s issues, a figure that suggests Democrats will continue to bring up the so-called “war on women” in 2014.

The poll was conducted April 24-27 with a random sample of 1,000 adults on landlines and cellphones. The margin for error is plus or minus 3.5 points. POLITICO