Republicans Jump to Six-Point Lead on Generic Ballot

Generic Congressional Ballot
Republicans Jump to Six-Point Lead on Generic Ballot

Tuesday, November 10, 2009

Republican candidates have stretched their lead over Democrats to six points in the Generic Congressional Ballot.

The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey shows that 43% would vote for their district’s Republican congressional candidate while 37% would opt for his or her Democratic opponent. Republicans have held the lead for over four months now.

Voters not affiliated with either party continue to heavily favor Republicans, 43% to 20%.

Since late June, support for Republican candidates has ranged from 41% to 44%, while support for Democrats has run from 36% to 40%.

Looking back one year ago, the two parties were in a much different place. Throughout the fall of 2008, support for Democratic congressional candidates ranged from 42% to 47%. Republican support ranged from 37% to 41%.

But in October, for the third straight month, the number of Americans identifying themselves as Democrats inched up while the number of Republicans fell slightly.

While other polling firms appear to show different results on the generic ballot, Real Clear Politics explains the differences in survey samples and question ordering, stating “if you are asking which pollsters have it right, I'd probably put my money on Gallup-Rasmussen.â€