Rasmussen Reports has found no partisan shift in its polling since the Foley affair. For polls conducted during a 7-day period ending October 11, after the time the scandal first broke, the polling agency determined that 37% of respondents identified themselves as Democrats, and 32.3% as Republicans. That is unchanged from poll results prior to the Foley scandal.Rasmussen has seen a noticeable decrease in the number of people who identify themselves as Republicans since the 2004 elections. Two years ago, the numbers for Democrats and Republicans were virtually the same.
Rasmussen has also found no evidence so far of a shift in evangelical voter support for Republican candidates and says its polling data "suggests limited if any movement as a result of the Foley fall-out." The agency believes the scandal's biggest impact will be the time it cost Republicans, eating up at least 10 days of the final campaign push.
It is possible a national discussion about David Kuo's new book will diminish the Republicans' appeal to evangelicals, but given the highly partisan rhetoric with which some liberals, including Keith Olbermann, have already framed the discussion, that is looking increasingly unlikely.
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