Poll: Dems lead GOP by 13 points on generic congressional ballot

Democrats hold a 13-point lead over Republicans among likely voters on the generic congressional ballot, according to a new poll from CNN.

The CNN survey, which was conducted by SSRS and released on Tuesday, found that 54 percent of likely voters surveyed favor a Democratic congressional candidate in their district. 

{mosads}Forty-one percent of likely voters polled said they support a GOP candidate.

This is the widest margin of support for Democrats in a midterm cycle since 2006, when the party held a 21-point lead over Republicans among likely voters, according to CNN.

In 2006 Democrats seized control of the House from Republicans after flipping 31 seats. They currently need to retake 23 seats to take over in November.

CNN also reported the 13-point lead for Democrats represents a three-point increase from a similar poll conducted in September. In that survey, 52 percent of likely voters said they favored a Democrat and 42 percent said they favored a Republican.

New CNN poll: Democrats advantage in generic ballot widens to 13%

CNN POLL CONDUCTED BY SSRS
Oct. 4-7
Likely Voters’
Choice for Congress

Democrat Republican

Now 54% 41%
September 52% 42%

— Jim Sciutto (@jimsciutto) October 9, 2018

The poll also found that 62 percent of Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents say they’re extremely or very enthusiastic to vote, a 7-point increase since September.

Meanwhile, 52 percent Republicans and Republican-leaning independents say they’re extremely or very enthusiastic about the upcoming midterm elections. 

But the CNN poll also shows that 50 percent Americans expect Republicans to retain control of the House. Just 34 percent said they think Democrats will retake control of the lower chamber. 

The CNN/SSRS was conducted between Oct. 4 and 7 among a sample population of 1,009 adults. It has a margin of error of 3.8 percentage points.