Rasmussen Poll: Republicans Lead Generic Congressional Ballot by 2 Points

The Republican candidates lead the Democrats on the generic congressional ballot by two points, according to Rasmussen Reports’ weekly poll released Friday.

The poll was released on Friday, 46 days before the election, as the Republicans look to retake control of Congress. The Rasmussen Reports survey showed that the generic GOP candidates are only two points ahead, which is only one point better than last week, when the Democrats were only behind by one point.

Forty-two percent of likely U.S. voters said they would elect a Republican, while 42 percent said they would vote for the Democrat. Five percent said they would vote for another candidate, and the other nine said they were unsure.

Nevertheless, the two-point lead is only slightly better than last week and just in the two-point margin or error. This has occurred less than two months out from the election, meaning the poll has the possibility of shifting either way before November; however, the Republicans have led on the generic ballot all year.

Rasmussen noted that in September 2018 — before Democrats took the House for the first time in eight years — they had a three-point advantage on the generic congressional ballot, 46 percent to 43 percent. But as the 2018 November midterm election neared, the margins between Democrats and Republicans became extremely close: Republicans had 46 percent to 45 percent for Democrats — which is what the generic ballot is currently showing.

In this poll, the Republican party showed a narrow lead with independents over Democrats. Among voters not affiliated with either major party, 35 percent said they would vote for the GOP candidate, while only 33 percent said they would vote for the Democrat candidate.

Additionally, 22 percent of black voters and 42 percent of other minority groups said they would vote for the Republican candidate if the election were held today. A Democrat candidate would garner support from 59 percent of black voters and 41 percent of other minority groups.

Furthermore, there is a difference in voter intensity between the parties, with 89 percent of Republican voters saying they would vote for their own party’s congressional candidate and only 85 percent of Democrats saying the same thing.

The Rasmussen Reports survey was conducted from September 18 to 22 and questioned 2,500 likely United States voters. The survey had 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.