Democrats have 5-point lead in 2020 generic Congressional ballot: poll

Democrats hold a 5-point advantage over Republicans in the generic 2020 congressional ballot, according to a new NPR/PBS NewsHour/Marist poll released Tuesday. 

Democrats have a 47-40 lead over Republicans among registered voters in Tuesday’s survey, with another 11 percent saying they are unsure which candidate they would back in their district if the 2020 race was held today. 

{mosads}Democrats ran up the score among historically supportive demographics in the poll, holding a 17-point lead among voters with college degrees, a 24-point advantage among non-white voters, a 20-point edge among voters under 45 years old and a 17-point lead among women.

Democrats also were able to maintain small deficits among GOP-leaning constituencies. They trailed Republicans by just 5 points among white voters and 3 points among voters without college degrees. The party still fell behind by 8 points among men and 7 points among voters aged 45 years or older. 

The two parties are running neck-and-neck among Independent voters, with Democrats coming in at 40 percent and Republicans at 39 percent. However, in a sign that many voters remain sway-able as the 2020 cycle heats up, 19 percent of Independents say they are not sure who they’d vote for if the election were held today. 

Democrats are expected to keep their control of the House next year, though face an uphill battle in toppling the GOP’s 53-47 majority of the Senate. Republicans are defending a handful of competitive Senate seats while planning to go on the offensive to unseat Democratic Sen. Doug Jones in ruby red Alabama.

The NPR/PBS NewsHour/Marist poll surveyed 988 registered voters from Nov. 11-15 and has a margin of error of 3.8 percent.