So...Who Are You Again???

The Democratic strategy of casting the election as a referendum on Republican conduct and policy has given Democrats majority control of Congress. But many voters have little impression of key leaders expected to now run the show (see survey details and crosstabs). Congressman Steny Hoyer is currently the Minority Whip. Though incoming Speaker Nancy Pelosi has endorsed John Murtha as the next House Majority Leader, many colleagues consider Hoyer the frontrunner. Still, despite his clout on Capitol Hill, 65% of voters don’t know enough to have an opinion of him (15% hold a favorable view, 20% unfavorable). Congressman John D. Dingell, a member of the House since 1955, will likely again chair the Energy and Commerce Commission. He's only slightly better known than Hoyer—39% have an opinion while 60% do not (14% see him favorably, 25% unfavorably). Congressman Henry Waxman, slated to chair the Government Reform Committee, is expected to spearhead Administration-vexing investigations that Democrats have been stopped from pursuing under GOP leadership. He's viewed favorably by 19%, unfavorably by 26%, with 56% "not sure." Gravel-voiced Congressman Charles Rangel, to head the tax-bill-hatching Ways and Means Committee, is known to 50% of respondents. He is viewed favorably by 20% and unfavorably by 31%. An earlier survey found that 24% of Americans have a favorable opinion of incoming House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. Howard Dean, the former governor and presidential candidate who currently heads up the Democratic National Committee is much better known than Congressional leaders. He is viewed favorably by 39% and unfavorably by 39%, with more voters seeing him "very favorably" (14%) than "very unfavorably" (12%). Dean's "fifty-state strategy" is credited with helping Democrats win seats in districts not originally regarded as battlegrounds.