With two months left before the midterm elections, a new survey says Republicans have the advantage in the battle for control of the Senate.
The YouGov/New York Times/CBS News poll—which surveyed 108,725 voters in 50 states—found the GOP leading in eight states where the seat is currently held by a Democrat, two more than the party needs to regain Senate control.
One crucial state, Alaska, is leaning red, though the Republican challenger Daniel Sullivan’s 6 point lead is within the poll’s margin of error. The GOP has a slight lead in four other states—Arkansas, Louisiana, North Carolina, and Mississippi—and a strong lead in three others—West Virginia, Montana, and South Dakota.
In Kentucky, where Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell has been challenged by Alison Lundergan Grimes, polls show the race leaning red.
The latest survey’s findings are in keeping with NBC News/Marist’s poll on Sunday, which saw Republicans leading in Kentucky and Arkansas—a big change from the May results, which saw Arkansas incumbent Sen. Mark Pryor up by 11 points.
With just two months left till Election Day, both parties are fighting to win the debate on economy as polls find it’s the top issue for voters. The YouGov poll saw that a plurality of voters felt the economy nationally and in each state wasn’t improving, instead saying it was “about the same” and both parties have struggled to define exactly how they hope to speed the sluggish economic recovery. Democrats redoubled their efforts to paint themselves as warriors for the middle class last week, centering their campaign issues around issues like hiking the minimum age and pay equity, while Republicans kicked off this week with an op-ed by House Speaker John Boehner, arguing that it’s actually the White House and the Democratic Party that’s ruining everything.
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