Poll: Dems have 5-point lead on generic House ballot

Democrats hold a single-digit advantage over Republicans for control of the House in November’s midterm elections, according to a poll released Wednesday by The Economist–YouGov.

The survey of 1,273 registered voters showed 46 percent said that they would support a Democratic candidate for the House next month, while 41 percent said they would support a Republican. Meanwhile, 8 percent remain undecided, and 2 percent said they will not vote at all.

{mosads}The results in Wednesday’s poll release are similar to results released earlier this month from the same pollster, with both parties having gained 1 percentage point of voter support between the two polls, leaving the gap between the parties unchanged.

Male voters were split evenly, 45 percent to 45 percent, between the two parties, while Democrats hold a 9-point advantage among women in the poll. Democrats also hold a slim lead of 3 percentage points over Republicans among independent voters.

Democrats did better among self-identified moderates or politically centrists, with the party enjoying the support of 55 percent of these voters, while 38 percent of the same category said they would support Republicans in November.

The Economist–YouGov poll was conducted from Oct. 14 to 16, and contains a margin of error of 2.8 percentage points for questions asked to registered voters. 

Another poll released Wednesday from the Republican firm Rasmussen Reports found Democrats with a smaller 1-point lead over Republicans for control of the House after the midterms, with 7 percent undecided.

That poll shows Democrats’ lead growing slightly after the party found itself tied with Republicans in the GOP-leaning poll following last week’s confirmation of Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court.

The Rasmussen poll surveyed 2,500 likely midterm voters from Oct. 7 to 11 and contains a margin of error of 2 percentage points.