Rasmussen Survey: 56% of Likely Voters Disapprove of the Media’s Coverage of the Midterms

Most voters disapprove of the way the media covered the highly anticipated midterm elections, a Rasmussen Reports survey released Thursday found.

The survey first asked respondents, “How would you rate the media coverage of this year’s congressional campaign?”

Most, 56 percent, were disillusioned by the media’s coverage, as 33 percent rated the media’s coverage as “poor” and 23 percent rated it “fair.” Just 13 percent deemed it “excellent,” and 24 percent rated the coverage “good.”

There seems to be a consensus among Republicans and independents, as 70 percent of Republicans and 60 percent of independents rated it as either “fair” or “poor.”

Nearly one-third of respondents, 31 percent, said they got most of their news about the congressional campaign from cable news networks, followed by 22 percent who said “traditional” TV network news, and 20 percent who said “internet news sites.”

Further, a plurality, 47 percent, believe this year’s media coverage favored Democrats, but just 14 percent believe it favored Republicans.  A quarter, 26 percent, believe the media coverage was, for the most part, balanced. 

Notably, a plurality of independents agree that the media coverage was biased in favor of Democrats — 39 percent:

Fifty-six percent (56%) of Republicans think the media’s campaign coverage this year favored Democrats, a belief shared by 45% of Democrats and 39% of voters not affiliated with either major party. Eighteen percent (18%) of Republicans, 15% of Democrats and 10% of unaffiliated voters say most media coverage of this year’s congressional campaign favored Republicans. Thirteen percent (13%) of Republicans, 32% of Democrats and 33% of unaffiliated voters believe most of the coverage was balanced.

The survey was taken November 6-7, 2022, among 1,000 likely U.S. voters and has a +/- 3 percent margin of error. 

The survey comes two days after the election, where the balance of power in both chambers remains uncertain. The House is believed to lean Republican. NBC News projects a Republican majority in the House, holding 222 seats to the Democrats’ 213. Notably, 218 seats are needed for a majority.