---
title: "Party Control Matters"
description: "That's the percentage of registered voters who say the issue of which party controls Congress will be a factor in their vote when they go to the polls Tuesday. That's much higher than in recent midterm elections. More Democrats than Republicans say party control matters (73% vs. 65%). But party control is a bigger factor for Republicans than it was just a few weeks ago (65% vs. 58% in early October)."
date: "2006-11-05"
authors:
  - name: "Russell Heimlich"
    job_title: "Former web developer"
    link: "https://www.pewresearch.org/staff/russell-heimlich/"
url: "https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2006/11/05/party-control-matters/"
---

# Party Control Matters

Compared with other recent midterm elections, many more voters, regardless of party affiliation, say partisan control of Congress will be a factor in their vote when they go to the polls on Tuesday. Fully 61% of registered voters now express this view; fewer than half did so in November 2002 (48%) and November 1998 (46%). As Republicans have become more engaged in the campaign in recent weeks, an increasing number (65%) also say that the issue of party control of Congress will influence their vote, up from 58% in early October and 54% in June. The percentage of Democrats who view partisan control of Congress as a factor in their vote has remained more stable; 73% say that, up slightly from early October, but largely unchanged from June. [Read More](https://www.pewresearch.org/politics/reports/display.php3?ReportID=295)