% Of Voters Wanting A Split Government Has Dropped

A few years ago, there was a significant margin of voters that thought it was a good idea for the presidency and Congress to be controlled by different parties. The idea was that each could rein in the other, and prevent extremist policies (from the left or the right) to be enacted. Unfortunately, it didn't work out that way. What has happened is basically gridlock, where nothing gets done to solve the nation's problems.

And it looks like the public is finally getting the message. While 26% of the public wanted a split government in 2004, now only 20% say that's a good idea. And the same reluctance to split the government between the parties is evident in two political groups -- Democrats (32% in 2004 to 14% in 2016),  and Independents (30% in 2004 to 27% in 2016). Only Republicans have shown a slight increase in the desire for split government since 2004 (17% to 19%) -- probably because they think they will lose the presidential election this year.

The chart above was made from a recent Gallup Poll -- done between September 7th and 11th of a random national sample of 1,020 adults, with a 4 point margin of error.