Gallup: Americans displeased with Congress, OK with own representative

PRINCETON, N.J., May 9 (UPI) -- Americans are down on Congress as a whole while saying they're OK with their individual congressional member, a Gallup poll released Thursday indicated.

The 16 percent overall approval rating for May was essentially the same rate recorded in April, Gallup said. Seventy-nine percent said they disapprove in the latest survey.

By party, 19 percent of Democrats, 15 percent of Republicans, and 14 percent of independents said they approve of Congress, the Princeton, N.J., polling agency said.

Gallup said the latest poll found Americans hold more positive views of their own representative than of Congress overall.

Forty-six percent of Americans said they approve of the job the representative from their own congressional district is doing, Gallup said.

Americans listed as their top priorities creating more jobs and helping the economy grow, even though Washington leaders are focusing on immigration reform and gun legislation, two priorities Americans rank as least important, Gallup said in a separate poll released this week.

Results for the latest Gallup poll are based on nationwide telephone interviews conducted with 1,535 adults conducted May 2-7. The margin of error is 3 percentage points.