But on what?
The two parties’ voters, like their politicians, are far apart on health care, immigration and climate change, exit polls show.
The voters can’t even agree on whether the economy is looking worse or getting better.
So when Obama says the voters signaled that they want “to see more cooperation,” and Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky says “they want us to look for areas of agreement,” it’s not clear where the voters expect them to find the compromises.
A look at what voters said about the issues as they left the polls Tuesday:
Health care
It’s no surprise that Senate Republicans want to celebrate by joining the GOP-led House in voting to repeal the health care law. But Obama has veto power.
A huge chunk of the Republicans’ midterm voters (78 percent) say the law that requires health coverage for nearly everyone went too far. One-fifth of their voters say health care is the most important issue facing the country.
Even more people who voted for Democratic congressional candidates — about one-third of them — call health care the top issue.
But where Republicans say the law went too far, the same share of Democratic voters says it’s about right or didn’t go far enough.
Climate change
Global warming is an issue where more voters overall seemed to agree with Obama, even though Republican candidates came out ahead on election night. Nearly 6 in 10 said global warming is a serious problem, and they mostly voted for Democratic congressional candidates.
But those who aren’t worried about the issue overwhelmingly backed Republican candidates, who are more apt to question the scientific findings on climate change.
Still, many Republican lawmakers are nervous about appearing indifferent to forecasts of dire environmental consequences. One-third of the voters who backed Republicans think global warming is a serious problem, according to the exit polls.
The economy
Eighty-nine percent of Republican voters say they’re worried about the economy’s direction. Two-thirds of Democrats admitted to feeling at least somewhat worried.
Even here, the partisan fault line is visible. Democratic and Republican voters see the same economy quite differently.
More than half of those who backed Democrats think it’s getting better, and only 14 percent of them think it’s getting worse.
Republican voters see the reverse: Nearly half say the economy’s getting worse, and only 15 percent think it’s getting better.
What causes the optimism gap? Some of it probably stems from political loyalty.
Tea party
Here’s a shift that could help clear the way for compromise: The movement that pushed for standoffs, debt ceiling showdowns and a government shutdown is waning.
The share of Republican voters who support the tea party movement dropped from 67 percent in 2010 to 53 percent this year.
Less than one-quarter of Republican voters this time said they were strong tea party supporters.
About the Author
