Poll shows anti-incumbency highest since '94

Voters' current attitudes toward incumbents mirror those in two of the most recent sweeping election cycles, a new poll found Wednesday.

Just 32 percent of registered voters said they want to reelect their own member of Congress, while 57 percent said they are inclined to evaluate another candidate.

Those attitudes toward incumbents are the lowest since 1994, when Republicans won 54 seats in the House and eight in the Senate, giving them control of both chambers only two years into President Bill Clinton's first term.

34 percent of registered voters several times throughout 1994 said their lawmaker deserved reelection that fall, according to an ABC/Washington Post poll released this week, which also includes historic trendiness.

Incumbents' numbers also dipped before the elections in 2006, when Democrats won back the House after winning 31 Republican seats.

37 percent of registered voters in mid-May of that year said their member of Congress deserved reelection.

Republicans are hoping the anti-incumbency poll gives their party an edge going into this November, when they have openly hoped for winning back the House again.

The Post poll found, though, that Democrats maintain a slight advantage in a generic blot matchup. 48 percent said they're likely to support a Democratic candidates this fall, compared to 48 percent who prefer a GOP candidate. Six percent had no opinion.

The poll, conducted April 22-25, has a three percent margin of error.