38% More Likely To Contribute Time or Money To A Political Campaign This Year

Thirty-eight percent (38%) of U.S. voters say they are more likely to contribute time or money to a political campaign this year compared to previous election years.

A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that 34% say they are less likely to contribute time or money this year, while 22% say the likelihood is about the same.

Sixty-five percent (65%) of the Political Class say they are more likely to contribute time or money this year, while Mainstream voters are almost evenly divided between being more likely or less likely to give.

Interestingly, 59% of Mainstream voters are more likely to contribute to an individual candidate, but the plurality (44%) of the Political Class is more inclined to give to a political party.

Among those who have contributed time or money in the past, 51% say they are more likely to do so this year, while 28% are less likely to do so.

Fifty-four percent (54%) of all voters say they are more likely to contribute to an individual candidate rather than to a political party. Just 18% are more likely to give to a party instead. Twenty-eight percent (28%) are not sure which is best.

Still, 75% of voters think a candidate’s political positions are more important than how much money he has to spend in determining the outcome of most elections. Only 15% think the amount of money a candidate has to spend is more important.

Republicans are a bit more inclined to contribute this year than Democrats are, but the differences are minor. Forty-two percent (42%) of GOP voters are more likely to contribute time or money to a political campaign this year, compared to 39% of Democrats. Thirty-five percent (35%) of those in President Obama’s party say they are less likely to contribute this year, a view shared by just 30% of Republicans.

But then earlier this year, 75% of GOP voters said Republicans in Congress have lost touch with the party’s base throughout the nation over the past several years. Fifty-four percent (54%) of Democratic voters, on the other hand, believe Democrats in Congress have done a good job representing their party’s values over the past several years.

Voters not affiliated with either major party lean toward being less likely to contribute this year.

Among those who have contributed in the past, 62% are more likely to give to an individual candidate than to a party.

Fifty-two percent (52%) of voters say they have contributed time or money to a political campaign. Forty-three percent (43%) say they have never done so.

Democrats (61%) are slightly more likely to have contributed than Republicans (55%). Most unaffiliated voters (54%) have not contributed.

Support for candidates from both parties surged following Congress’ passage of the national health care plan, but Republican candidates still hold a seven-point lead over Democrats in the latest edition of the Generic Congressional Ballot. LINK Forty-six percent (46%) would vote for their district’s Republican congressional candidate, while 39% would opt for his or her Democratic opponent.

In a survey in February of last year, 57% of Americans said political donors get more than their money back in terms of favors from members of Congress. Fifty-one percent (51%) said you can influence a governor or member of Congress for less than $50,000 in contributions.

However, 68% believe that requiring the disclosure of all campaign contributions is more important that limiting those contributions.

Sixty-three percent (63%) of voters think it would be better for the country if most incumbents in Congress were defeated this November. Just 27% say their representative in Congress is the best possible person for the job.

In December, 39% of Americans said they would be giving less to charity than they did a year earlier. Only 12% planned to give more, while 44% intended to give about the same amount as they had before.

Rasmussen Reports is an electronic publishing firm specializing in the collection, publication, and distribution of public opinion polling information.

Scott Rasmussen, president of Rasmussen Reports, has been an independent pollster for more than a decade.