Poll: Republicans Continue to Lead Generic Congressional Ballot, Lose Some Momentum from Gun Rights Battle

After a recent school shooting in Texas, the Republican lead on the generic congressional ballot shrank by three points in the latest Rasmussen Reports survey, as the gun rights battle persists.

While the Republicans look to retake control of Congress in the 2022 midterm elections 165 days from now, the most recent Rasmussen Reports survey found that the Republican lead on the generic congressional ballot shrank by three points.

The GOP still holds the lead in the survey, with 47 percent of likely U.S. voters saying they would vote for the Republicans, while only 41 percent say they would vote for the generic Democrat.

The poll found that only four percent would choose a different candidate, while another seven percent said they were unsure.

The most recent survey is the closest the two parties have been all year, according to Rasmussen, adding that the Republican advantage went down three points, from a 48 percent to 39 percent lead last week. Rasmussen Reports updates their generic congressional ballot every Friday.

The Republicans’ slight dip in the lead with respondents occurred the same week as a massacre unfolded at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, on Tuesday, with Border Patrol agents moving in to stop the shooting at the school.

Since the school shooting, leftist organizations and lawmakers have tried to force the issue of gun control on the American people. Texas gubernatorial hopeful Robert Francis “Beto” O’Rourke (D) even tried to exploit the situation in the Lone Star State by injecting himself during Governor Greg Abbott’s Wednesday press conference covering the Robb Elementary mass shooting in Uvalde.

Rasmussen noted that in May 2018, before the Democrats took the House for the first time in eight years, they only had a one-point advantage on the generic congressional ballot. And, in fact, as the 2018 November midterm election neared, the margins between the Democrats and Republicans came extremely close.

However, in this poll, with Republican party has a heavy advantage with independents over the Democrats. Forty-two percent of independents, those who do not affiliate with any party, said they would vote for the GOP candidate, while only 31 percent said they would vote for the Democrat candidate.

The Rasmussen Reports survey was conducted from May 22 to 26 and questioned 2,500 likely U.S. voters. The survey saw a two percent margin of error and a 95 percent confidence level.

Jacob Bliss is a reporter for Breitbart News. Write to him at jbliss@breitbart.com or follow him on Twitter @JacobMBliss.