Poll: GOP grows stronger in generic congressional ballot

This article was originally on a blog post platform and may be missing photos, graphics or links. See About archive blog posts.

Riding a wave of unhappiness among independents, Republicans have increased their lead over Democrats in the preference poll for Congress, the Gallup organization reported Wednesday.

Republicans were preferred over Democrats by 49% to 43% in the generic vote in which those surveyed were asked to pick a party rather than a candidate. It is the largest lead by Republicans in the 2010 midterm election year, according to the polling organization.

The results are based on telephone interviews of 1,594 voters between May 24 and 30. The margin of error is plus or minus three percentage points.

The GOP’s continuing strength in the generic ballot suggests a strong showing in the congressional battle this year, though it is unclear whether Republicans can recapture either chamber. In general, the party out of power runs strongly against the president’s party. The latest results coincide with a general drop in approval for President Obama, according to most polls.

The percentage of those surveyed saying they were Republicans remained constant at 33%, but there was a drop among those calling themselves Democrats from 38% to 33% and an increase of those who saw themselves as independent, from 27% to 32%.

The growing number of independents is shifting toward Republicans in their voting preferences, according to the weekly poll. Independents who said they would vote for a Republican rose from 46% to 47% while those who said they would vote for Democrat fell two percentage points to 34%.

--Michael Muskal
Twitter.com/LATimesmuskal