Democratic Lead on Generic Ballot Narrows
But Democrats remain significantly more enthusiastic about the election
by Lydia Saad
GALLUP NEWS SERVICE
PRINCETON, NJ -- A new USA Today/Gallup survey finds Republicans edging closer to the Democrats in voter preferences for this year's midterm congressional elections, mirroring the slight increase seen in President Bush's job approval rating on the same poll.
According to the August 18-20 poll, the Democrats now lead the Republicans by two points, 47% vs. 45%, as the party more registered voters say they will support in this fall's congressional elections. That is down from a 9-point lead earlier this month, and an average Democratic lead of 10 points in the previous three polls conducted in July and August. It also represents the Republicans' best performance in a single poll during this election cycle on this important measure of electoral strength.
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The latest poll included a question measuring voter enthusiasm for the election, asked each midterm election year since 1994. Close to half of Democrats (46%) compared with 36% of Republicans say they are more enthusiastic about voting this year than usual. At the same time, 46% of Democrats say they are more enthusiastic about voting than usual, while 43% say they are less enthusiastic. Republicans tilt negative on this question with only 36% saying they are more enthusiastic and 40% saying less enthusiastic.
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Today's 10-point Democratic advantage in the percentage saying they are more enthusiastic about voting than usual (46% vs. 36%) is slightly lower than their 12- to 15-point lead on this question earlier this year, but still substantially higher than their position on this question in any of the previous three midterm elections (1994, 1998, and 2002).
http://poll.gallup.com/content/?ci=24229I honestly think there's just a bounce for the Repugs from recent events that will go away by october. They'll be back down to their 20 point deficit with Bush's 29% approval once the election rolls along.