Poll: Democrats lead GOP by 6 on generic House ballot

Democrats hold a 6-point advantage over Republicans on a generic House ballot just a few months before the November midterms, according to a new poll from the left-leaning Public Policy Polling (PPP).

The polling firm found that 46 percent of Americans say they want to see Democrats retake the House in the fall, while 40 percent said they would support a Republican candidate in the hopes of protecting the GOP majority.

{mosads}

Among voters who say they are “very excited” about voting in the midterms, the lead for Democrats grows to 9 points, with 52 percent saying they plan to support a Democrat for their local congressional election and 43 percent saying they plan to support a Republican.

Just over half of respondents, 56 percent, said they fell in to the category of “very excited” to vote in the midterms.

Democrats need to net 23 seats in the midterms to retake the House, with Republicans battling to defend their majority in the chamber amid a spate of retirements. 

In general, the PPP poll found that Americans appear to be remaining optimistic about their financial situation – a possible bright spot for the GOP ahead of November as Republicans seek to tout benefits of their tax-cut plan passed in December.

Just over a third of Americans, 35 percent, said in the PPP poll that they are better off financially than they were a year ago, while 26 percent said they are worse off and another 37 percent said they are in essentially the same place.

PPP’s survey of 679 registered voters was conducted June 8-10 via telephones and the internet and has a margin of error of 3.8 percentage points.