WSJ/NBC Poll: Voters Support GOP Takeover of Congress

The latest Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll has some encouraging news for Republicans: Voters increasingly prefer a Congress controlled by the GOP.

Some 45% said they preferred a Republican controlled Congress as the outcome of the 2010 midterm elections compared with 43% who said they preferred Democrats remain in control.

That might not seem like such a big difference, but the numbers have been trending—slowly–in the GOP’s favor.

There’s been a notable decline in support for a Democratic-controlled Congress in WSJ/NBC polls. In November 2008, the public preferred a Democratic Congress by a 12-point, 48%-36% margin. By January 2010, the parties tied at 41%. Now, the GOP is in the lead.

Today’s numbers aren’t statistically significant over the last WSJ/NBC poll in May when voters gave Republicans a one-point 44%-43% edge over Democrats. But it is the first time since 2002 that the GOP has lead for two consecutive months in our surveys when voters were asked which party they want to control Congress.

Nearly one in three voters, 32%, said they would use their midterm vote as a way to send a message of opposition to President Barack Obama, while 27% said they would vote to send a message of support for the president. A plurality, 39%, said Obama would have nothing to do with how they cast their vote.

The full poll will be released at www.wsj.com at 6:30 p.m. EDT

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