With less than a month to go before this year’s charged mid term elections, Republicans still hold the field. While the GOP are still out in front, the Democrats have made improvements with likely voters, according to a new poll by the Washington Post and ABC News.
While the GOP enjoyed a huge advantage in early September, the new poll shows that the Democrats have cut that lead in half. They were also shown to have made gains on the big question as to which party voters trust more with large issues like healthcare and the economy.
Voters also give the Democrats a lead on the issue of who they think will do a better job at helping out the embattled middle class, a campaign issue that the White House has been pressing in the lead up to the elections.
After hitting an all-time low, President Obama’s approval ratings have jumped back up and in some states, the Democrats have taken back the lead over their Republican opponents in the polls.
While there are small signs of encouragement, the Democrats still face a large challenge to stave off mass losses in Congress this year, and it comes down to how individuals are performing, rather than an overall change in the political landscape.
The poll also shows the slide in the Party’s popularity since 2006, when it recaptured Congress. Today, the Republican hold a six-point lead over the Democrats, at 49 to 43 of likely voters compared to the same time four years ago when the Democrats held a 12-point lead over Republicans.
