Republican voters are signaling how they’re thinking about the 2022 midterms, with a recent Pew Research survey showing they're much more motivated this cycle by which party controls Congress after November.
Why it matters: It’s a significant shift from the 2018 elections, when there was only a narrow gap between the two parties on the same question.
Between the lines: The overall share of voters saying which party controls Congress “really matters” to them is similar this cycle (63%) to the last midterm cycle (65%).
- But of that group, 70% of Republicans agree party control on the Hill is an important factor to them, compared to just 60% of Democrats.
- That’s down from 67% of Democratic voters who said the same in 2018.
- Independent voters are slightly more likely than Democrat ones to care about this (63%) —comparable to the last cycle.