Democrats hold five-point lead over Republicans among registered voters ahead of midterm elections: Poll – Colorado Politics

The Democratic Party holds a significantly smaller edge over the Republican Party now than it did in 2018 when Democrats flipped the House of Representatives during President Donald Trump’s first term.
Democrats hold just a five-percentage-point lead over Republicans about a month and a half out from the 2026 midterm elections, according to a new NBC News poll that was released on Sunday. Democrats writ large are still more unpopular than Trump himself and the broader GOP despite voters’ belief that Trump’s policies have harmed the economy and pushed up prices.
Voters prefer Democrats by 50%-45%, seven percentage points lower than before the 2018 midterm elections this far out from them, the survey of registered voters says. It has a margin of error of 3.1 percentage points.
Trump’s popularity has dropped consistently since he took office in January 2025, but declining confidence in his ability to govern increased dramatically in February after the conflict in Iran broke out. Subsequent intermittent attacks between the two countries have coincided with higher domestic gas prices due to disrupted shipping through the Strait of Hormuz. Democrats hoping to retake the House and Senate in November have rallied around the Trump administration’s inability to confront persistent inflation, evoking concerns about “affordability” to appeal to an electorate for whom that topic is their first priority.
The 56% of voters who say they disapprove of Trump’s job performance parallels the 55% who say his policies have hurt the economy. At this point in 2018, 41% said his policies helped the economy, and 26% said they hurt it.
Trump largely ran on a platform focused on economic troubles in 2024, as former President Joe Biden’s four years in office were marked by record-setting inflation. But Democrats now hold a one-percentage-point lead over Republicans in terms of who voters trust more to handle the economy. In the same survey three years ago, Republicans were up 21 percentage points when respondents were asked the same question.
Republicans across the aisle have rallied around the success of socialist candidates in Democratic primaries throughout the summer. Figures such as Michigan Democratic Senate candidate Abdul el Sayed have given Republicans an opportunity to cast Democrats as socially out of touch and misaligned with the typical voter’s values. His decision to campaign alongside internet personality Hasan Piker has alienated more centrist Democratic figures who hoped the party would moderate after losing to Trump in the 2024 presidential election.
Republicans lead Democrats on border security and crime by over 20 percentage points, but are significantly less popular on data centers and healthcare — Democrats score 12 points higher than Republicans on the former and over 20 on the latter.
Published in print and online since 1898. Subscriber-only news stories daily, designed for public policy arena professionals, plus the weekly print edition every Saturday.
Welcome to the Denver Gazette
Subscribe to stay up to date with all things Colorado.

Streak: 9 days i
Stories you’ve missed since your last login:
Stories you’ve saved for later:
Recommended stories based on your interests:

source