Fried quoted in Morning Consult article on congressional GOP leaders
Amy Fried, a political science professor at the University of Maine, was quoted in the Morning Consult article, “Shifting opinion of GOP leaders signals risks ahead of midterm elections.” Data from Morning Consult/Politico tracking polls show House Speaker Paul Ryan and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell experienced 16-point and 14-point drops, respectively, in net favorability this year — larger dips than their Democratic counterparts, according to the article. The ebbs in popularity come as voters have grown less trusting of congressional Republicans to handle the challenges facing the country, the article states. That decline in trust is a reflection of the GOP’s handling of their two key agenda items this year — overhauling the health system and rewriting the tax code — according to Fried. “The two biggest policy efforts Republicans have worked on have been very unpopular; health care and the tax bill are both really unpopular,” she said.