Poll: Democrats hold 6-point lead on generic ballot

Democrats hold a 6-point edge over Republicans on a generic congressional ballot ahead of the November midterm elections, according to a new poll.

Forty-five percent of registered voters surveyed in The Economist/YouGov poll released Wednesday said they would vote for a Democrat in their district while 39 percent said they would vote for a Republican.

The results largely skew along party lines, with 92 percent of Democrats responding that they would vote for a member of their party and 88 percent of Republicans saying the same. 

{mosads}Among independents, 32 percent said they would vote for a Democrat, while 33 percent said they would vote for a Republican. Another 24 percent of independents said they’re not sure, according to the poll.

Asked their preference for who should maintain control of Congress, 33 percent of registered voters in the poll said they would want Democrats to have control, while 34 percent said they would want it led by Republicans.

The survey of 1,500 people, including 1,249 registered voters, was conducted Aug. 26-28 via web-based interviews and has a margin of error of 3 percentage points.

The poll tracks closely to a RealClearPolitics average of generic ballot polls, which shows Democrats with a nearly 7-point lead.

Republicans are attempting to stave off a Democratic effort to retake control of the House and Senate in November. Democrats need to pick up 23 seats in the House to reclaim the majority.

President Trump has expressed more optimism about Republicans’ chances, regularly tweeting that he expects there to be a “red wave.”