Poll: GOP more unpopular than during Clinton impeachment

Voters are more unhappy with the Republican Party now than they were when the Republican-led House voted to impeach then-President Clinton, according to a new CNN poll released Tuesday.

Fifty-nine percent of voters polled said they had an unfavorable opinion of the Republican Party, with 33 percent calling their opinion favorable. The Tea Party did not poll well, either, with 51 percent saying they have an unfavorable opinion of the movement.

The last time CNN polled the GOP out of favor with more than 50 percent was in 1998. The House of Representatives voted to impeach Clinton on Dec. 19, 1998, and a survey taken between Dec. 19-20 that year found 57 percent unfavorable toward the Republican party. In January, that number fell to 52 percent, and has not been that high again until this month.

Although the GOP fared worse than Democrats as a party, the poll found that respondents had a stronger unfavorable opinion of Democratic leaders than Republican. House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) received an unfavorable opinion of 51 percent, while Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) earned 40 percent. Senate leaders Harry Reid (D-Nev.) and Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) were tied, with 39 percent separately responding they have an unfavorable opinion of each.

Recent polling has indicated that Americans are unhappy with Congress overall and do not believe the majority of lawmakers should be reelected. Democrats, with 58 percent, fared slightly better in the CNN poll than Republicans, with 64 percent saying they do not deserve reelection.

The poll was conducted Aug. 5-7 with a margin of error of 3 percentage points.

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