Poll: Incumbents have weak backing

PRINCETON, N.J., Aug. 5 (UPI) -- A mere 36 percent of registered U.S. voters said most members of Congress deserve to be re-elected, results from Gallup Poll released Tuesday indicated.

Pollsters said the results are among the lowest findings Gallup measured in recent years for presidential or congressional elections. The poll of 900 registered voters was conducted before Congress began its month-long recess Friday.

Similarly low ratings were found in 1992, 1994 and 2006, and followed by changes in congressional makeup and control, the Princeton, N.J., polling agency said.

Fifty-seven percent of registered voters say U.S. representatives from their own congressional districts deserved to be re-elected, also on the lower end of similar polls, Gallup said.

Results are based on nationwide telephone interviews July 25-27 with registered voters aged 18 and older. The total sample has a margin of error of 4 percentage points.