President Donald Trump’s poor approval rating continues to weigh down his party ahead of the midterms — though the GOP has a slim measure of separation from the president, with Democrats holding a 5-point lead in the battle for control of Congress, according to a new national NBC News poll.Subscribe to read this story ad-free Get unlimited access to ad-free articles and exclusive content.The poll — which was sponsored by More Perfect, a nonpartisan nonprofit dedicated to advancing democracy — found 49% of registered voters say they prefer to see Democrats control Congress as a result of this year’s elections, compared to 44% who prefer Republican control and 7% who are unsure.Independents lean toward Democrats by a 12-point margin, 46%-34%, as do majorities of Black and Latino voters, voters under 50 years old and those with a college degree.Republicans still have an edge among men, white voters and those without a college education.That 5-point Democratic lead on the generic ballot is essentially even with the NBC News poll conducted in March, when Democrats had a 6-point lead.
Looking at similar points in previous midterm election cycles, both parties were tied on the generic ballot in the May 2022 NBC News poll, while Democrats had a 10-point lead in the June 2018 NBC News poll.“These are rocky numbers for Republicans, but they are not catastrophic,” said Republican pollster Bill McInturff of Public Opinion Strategies, who conducted the survey with Democratic pollster Jeff Horwitt of Hart Research Associates.McInturff noted that Democrats held a larger advantage in recent “blue wave” years, like 2018.But Democrats also have a much smaller hill to climb to take the House this year: They need to net just three seats, even if redistricting has narrowed the battlefield.Democrats do face a tougher battle to net the four Senate seats needed for a majority in that chamber, since they would have to win multiple states Trump won by double digits in ...