Most adults rate the quality of past congressional candidates positively; young people are divided % who say, in general, the quality of candidates running for Congress in their districtin the last several elections has been Very bad Somewhat bad Somewhat good Very good
There was also a substantial age gap in these views: Just 45% of adults younger than 30 said the quality of congressional candidates in their district’s last several elections was good. By contrast, more than six-in-ten of those in older age groups said this, including about three-quarters of those 65 and older (77%). Younger people also tended to offer more negative evaluations of past candidate pools for other levels of office. (The age gap is partly the result of younger people being less likely to identify as partisans, but a gap remains even when that is taken into account.)
Most adults rate the quality of past congressional  | candidates positively; young people are divided  | % who say, in general, the quality of candidates running for Congress in their  | districtin the last several elections has been  | Very bad Somewhat bad Somewhat good Very good  | Net  | Net  | Total  | 33  | 25  | 53  | 64  | 18-29  | 50  | 44  | 37  | 45  | 30-49  | 30  | 21  | 58  | 65  | 50-64  | 30  | 21  | 52  | 15  | 67  | 65+  | 23  | 16  | 62  | 15  | 77  | Rep/Lean Rep  | 30  | 22  | 57  | 11  | 67  | Dem/Lea n Dem  | 35  | 8 27  | 51  | 12  | 63  | Republican identifier  | 22  | 15  | 62  | 15  | 77  | 53  | Lean Re pub lican  | 41  | 8  | 33  | 49  | Lean Democrat  | 50 13  | 37  | 44  | 48  | Democratic identifier  | 25  | 20  | 56  | 17  | 74  | Notes: No answer notshown See reporttoplineforfull questionwording  | Source Survev ofu.s adults conducted reporttoplineforfull Uan 29-Feb 13. 2018  | PEW RESEARCH CENTER 