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POLITICS

43% Say Neither Political Party in Congress Represents the American People

Don’t let the Tea Party fool you. A lot of voters are skeptical of the two major political parties, but most aren’t ready for a third party yet.

Still, a plurality (43%) of Likely U.S. Voters believes that neither Democrats nor Republicans in Congress are the party of the American people, according to a new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey. Nearly as many see a need for a new third party.

Thirty-five percent (35%) disagree that neither party represents the American people, and another 22% are not sure. (To see survey question wording, click here).

But 38% think Republicans and Democrats are so much alike that an entirely new party is needed to represent the American people. Fifty percent (50%) say a new third party is not needed. Twelve percent (12%) are undecided. This marks little change from the first time Rasmussen Reports asked this question in early February.

Thirty-eight percent (38%) also think it is at least somewhat likely that a third party candidate will be elected president of the United States within the next 10 years, with 11% who say it is Very Likely. Fifty-eight percent (58%) say the election of a third party president is unlikely, but that includes just 13% who say it’s Not At All Likely.

(Want a free daily e-mail update? If it's in the news, it's in our polls). Rasmussen Reports updates are also available on Twitter or Facebook.

The survey of 1,000 Likely Voters was conducted on October 22-23, 2010 by Rasmussen Reports. The margin of sampling error is +/- 3 percentage points with a 95% level of confidence. Field work for all Rasmussen Reports surveys is conducted by Pulse Opinion Research, LLC. See methodology.

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We conduct public opinion polls on a variety of topics to inform our audience on events in the news and other topics of interest. To ensure editorial control and independence, we pay for the polls ourselves and generate revenue through the sale of subscriptions, sponsorships, and advertising. Nightly polling on politics, business and lifestyle topics provides the content to update the Rasmussen Reports web site many times each day. If it's in the news, it's in our polls. Additionally, the data drives a daily update newsletter and various media outlets across the country.

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