For immediate release
September 24th, 2018
Contact: Stacey Selleck
Email: SSelleck@termlimits.org
Phone: (202) 261-3532
KY6 Race Tied; Voters Love Term Limits: New Poll
Today a new poll was released showing Congressman Andy Barr and Amy McGrath in a dead heat, 47%-47%, in the race for Kentucky’s 6th congressional district. The poll, commissioned by U.S. Term Limits (USTL) and conducted by Pulse Opinion Research, shows that increased focus on congressional term limits could be either candidate’s key to victory.
According to Pulse, which surveyed 600 likely midterm voters in District 6 from September 12th-17th, 81 percent of voters support a constitutional amendment for term limits on Congress. That includes 83 percent of Republicans, 78 percent of Democrats and 82 percent of independent voters — making term limits a broadly bipartisan issue. Only 14 percent of respondents opposed term limits.
The survey also found that 69 percent of voters are more likely to support a candidate for Congress who has signed a pledge endorsing term limits. Amy McGrath has signed the U.S. Term Limits Pledge while Andy Barr has not.
“This proves that District 6 voters want their member of Congress to be a real champion for term limits,” said USTL Executive Director Nick Tomboulides. “They want someone who will help fix the broken system in D.C. and make Congress accountable.”
Both Barr and McGrath say they support term limits, but they back different proposals. Barr has previously filed bills for 12-year House limits, whereas McGrath has pledged to support a House limit not exceeding 6 years. The Pulse survey shows District 6 voters side with McGrath. By a 71%-21% margin, they favor her proposal for a tougher House limit over Barr’s proposal for longer limits.
Finally, the survey results carried some advice for both candidates and their campaigns: do more to show voters where you stand on term limits. Only 17 percent of likely voters said Barr and McGrath were doing a good job communicating their positions on term limits, while a plurality of 49 percent said they were not.
U.S. Term Limits, founded in 1992, is the nation’s oldest and largest pro-term limits group. Congressional term limits is the only mainstream issue with backing from both presidents Barack Obama and Donald Trump.
Pulse Research Executive Summary with Poll Results and Crosstabs
McGrath has pledged.
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