Poll: Dems could take back House

Republicans are at risk of losing the House in 2014, according to a new survey conducted by Public Policy Polling for liberal advocacy group MoveOn.org.

{mosads}The poll shows Republican incumbents in “serious danger” in 12 districts, and builds on a poll released last week that pegged another 24 districts where Democrats purportedly have a chance to pick up seats.

Democrats would have to net 17 seats in the House to claim the majority, a scenario that most analysts believe is unlikely.

Still, a string of devastating polls released this week show the public’s view of the Republican Party has fallen to historically low levels, as the GOP bears the brunt of the blame for the unpopular government shutdown.

Before the shutdown, much of the political campaign discourse centered on whether Republicans could take the Senate.

“Given these results, and other national surveys that show more Americans now believe in Sasquatch than approve of Republicans, one would have to almost be willfully ignorant of the facts to argue that a wave election in which Democrats retake the House of Representatives is out of reach,” Jim Williams of PPP wrote.

PPP conducted the surveys in a handful of critical battleground states, such as Ohio, Florida, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Virginia and Iowa, as well as deep-blue states including New York, New Jersey, Washington and California.

Perhaps the best news for Republicans in the survey is that the next election cycle is still a year away.

“These polls are a snapshot of opinion at one point in time and hardly guarantee electoral outcomes 13months from now,” Williams continued. “Democrats must recruit strong candidates and run effective campaigns in individual districts if they are to capitalize on the vulnerability revealed by these surveys. And they must maintain a strong national advantage to net 17 seats and win back the House.”