Dems hold 6-point lead on generic ballot

Democrats hold a 6-point lead over Republicans on the generic ballot less than one month before November’s midterm races, according to a new American Barometer survey. 

The poll, conducted by Hill.TV and the HarrisX polling company, found that 43 percent of respondents said they would vote for a Democratic candidate, while 37 percent said they would back a Republican candidate. 

The polling comes close to the RealClearPolitics average of congressional polls, which shows an average of 48.1 percent backing a Democratic candidate and 41.2 percent supporting Republican candidates.

“It tells us there are going to be a lot of potentially close races out there,” Democratic pollster Mark Mellman told Hill.TV’s Joe Concha on “What America’s Thinking.” 

“I think it’s all set up for a strong Democratic performance, but the reality is that 7-point margin is going to work its way into individual districts in very uncertain ways,” he continued. 

While Republicans have continued to trail Democrats on the generic ballot, their support has inched up since August. 

Thirty-two percent of respondents said they would vote for a Republican candidate in the American Barometer released on Aug. 15, while 34 percent said the same in the poll on Aug. 29. 

Thirty-six percent of polled voters said they would support Republican candidates during the month of September. 

The American Barometer was conducted on Oct. 6-7 among 1,000 registered voters. The sampling margin of error is plus or minus 3.1 percentage points. 

— Julia Manchester