A recent Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll found the approval rating for members of Congress has dwindled to 16 percent -- the lowest point since 1992, according to the poll.

Susan Welch, a political science professor and the dean of College of the Liberal Arts, said she believes the falling rating is a direct result of excessive media coverage.

"The newspapers and television news are full of stories of people who have been convicted of corruption and are resigning their seats because of corruption," she said.

The recent scandal involving Mark Foley, a Republican congressman from Florida, was given much media attention. Foley, who was accused of sending inappropriate messages to his congressional pages, resigned last month.

"The Republicans are in charge right now, and all of these scandals are coming out. You can see this with the Mark Foley scandal," Eliot Schmidt, College Democrats spokesman, said.

But Todd Taylor, Penn State College Republicans president, said there are varying opinions as to what role the public's dissatisfaction will play in the upcoming elections.

"I think the Democrats will push it more, but it has backfired on them because they have had their own scandals," Taylor said.

According to the poll, the 20 percent of voters who approved of Congress in September dropped to 16 percent of voters who said they approved in October. In addition, the poll found 52 percent of voters claimed that they would rather have Democrats, as compared to 37 percent who preferred Republicans, control the Congress.

Schmidt said he thinks the scandals will help the Democrats.

"People perceive corruption coming from the top down," Schmidt said. Whatever the result, it may motivate people to get out and vote, he added.