Poll: Dems lead GOP by 12 points in generic House ballot

Democrats hold a 12-point lead over Republicans on a generic House ballot a little more than three months before the November midterm elections, according to a new poll.

Democratic candidates were favored over Republican candidates 51 percent to 39 percent in the Quinnipiac University poll released Wednesday.

{mosads}The poll found that while Republicans and Democrats largely backed their own parties, 50 percent of independent voters would vote for Democrats, while 33 percent of independents backed GOP candidates.

“Although the Mid-term elections are more than three months away, Democrats, who are hoping to retake control of the U.S. House of Representatives, will be cheered by their double- digit lead on the so-called generic ballot,” assistant director of the Quinnipiac University Poll Peter Brown said in a release.

Another poll released Wednesday from Marist, NPR and PBS NewsHour found that Democrats held a 10-point lead over Republicans on the generic ballot.

The two polls were released one day after University of Virginia political analyst Larry Sabato said Democrats are now the favorite to win control of the House in the midterm elections. He also shifted 17 House races in favor of Democrats.

Democrats will have to pick up 23 seats in the November elections to win back the House and end total GOP control over the legislative branch.

The Quinnipiac University survey of 1,177 voters nationwide was conducted July 18–23 via landlines and cellphones and has a margin of error of 3.5 percentage points.