Poll indicates Democrats down on economy

WASHINGTON, Aug. 22 (UPI) -- Latest Gallup poll figures indicate 54 percent of Democratic respondents rate the U.S. economy "poor" -- more than twice the Republican view.

The Democrats' take on the economy has consistently been much worse than Republican counterparts this year, of whom 25 percent rate it "poor," The Hill, a Washington publication, reported.

Further, 86 percent of Democrats polled say it is "getting worse," Gallup says. The GOP figure on that question is 64 percent.

Independents' views of the economy (46 percent "poor" and 81 percent "getting worse") align more closely with Democrats' views on these issues, the report said.

But, Gallup said, all party groups' current and future assessments have become more positive in the first part of August, compared with July.

The report said indications are that economic distress in the United States is likely to be the top issue at next week's Democratic National Convention. Also, Democrats would appear well-positioned to pick up independent support after their convention.

The questions for August are based on combined data of more than 8,000 telephone interviews conducted Aug. 1-17. For results based on this sample, the maximum margin of sampling error is 2 percentage points.