Democrats Hold 14-Point Lead Over Republicans in Congressional Vote
A recent survey indicates that Democrats have a notable 14-point advantage over Republicans in the projected Congressional popular vote for the 2026 elections, even as confidence in the party remains low among voters. This information comes from a poll conducted by NPR, PBS News, and Marist, which was released on Wednesday.
A majority of registered voters, about 55%, expressed intentions to support a Democratic candidate in their district if the midterm elections were to occur today. Meanwhile, 41% would back Republican candidates, and a mere 3% indicated they would favor candidates from both major parties.
The poll also reveals a significant advantage for Democrats among independents, who favor them by 33 points. It’s worth noting that this marks the first time in over three years that Democrats have shown a considerable lead in the Congressional popular vote, according to Marist findings.
However, the survey also shows that only 29% of registered voters trust the Democratic Party. In sharp contrast, 71% of respondents reported having “not much confidence” or “no confidence at all” in the party.
On the Republican side, 35% of voters expressed either “a lot of confidence” or “a fair amount of confidence” in the party, while 65% said they had “not much confidence” or “no confidence at all.”
Additionally, the poll found that only 20% of U.S. voters have “a great deal” or “a lot” of confidence in Congress overall, with a staggering 80% indicating “a little” or “no confidence” in the legislative branch.
Democratic National Committee Chairman Ken Martin, who has previously commented on the stress of his role, wrote about the challenges facing the party in an article on November 5.
Despite these challenges, House Republicans have been emphasizing their fundraising edge as they aim to maintain their majority in the House for the 2026 election cycle. Earlier in November, the National Republican Congressional Committee expressed optimism about their prospects for holding onto control.
The NPR/PBS News/Marist poll surveyed 1,443 U.S. adults from November 10 to 13, utilizing a multimodal approach that included phone interviews, text messages, and online interactions with a live interviewer. The results for the general adult population have a margin of error of plus or minus 3.0 percentage points.
