Poll: Democrats lead GOP by 15 points in generic 2018 ballot

Democrats have a 15-point advantage over Republicans on a generic 2018 ballot, according to a new poll from the Monmouth University Polling Institute.

In the survey released Wednesday, 51 percent of registered voters said they would vote for or lean toward a Democratic candidate if the midterm elections were held today. Only 36 percent of voters said they would vote or lean Republican.

Respondents are also overwhelmingly disappointed by the current job that Congress is doing, with only 16 percent saying they approve and 65 percent saying they disapprove.

The same poll found President Trump’s job approval rating at 32 percent, the lowest it has been since he took office.

{mosads}According to the data, in counties where Trump won by at least 10 points in the presidential election, voters said they would vote for or lean toward the GOP candidate in 2018 by a 7-point margin. In counties where Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton won by more than 10 points, Democrats had a 42-point advantage.

In swing counties, where Trump won by fewer than 10 points, the Monmouth poll found Democrats leading by 3 points in the generic 2018 ballot.

The survey was conducted Dec. 10–12, before results came in from the Alabama Senate special election.

Doug Jones won, becoming the first Democrat to win a Senate election in Alabama in decades. Jones’s win is seen as a significant blow to Republicans and giving Democrats further hope of flipping Congress in 2018.