Democrats Still Preferred By A 7 To 9 Point Margin

These charts are from the new NBC News / Wall Street Journal Poll -- done between October 14th and 17th of a national sample of 900 registered voters with a 3.3 point margin of error.

They show some things that should encourage Democrats. The first is that voters prefer a Democratic controlled Congress by 7 (registered voters) to 9 (likely voters) points. While men have increased their support for Republicans to 14 points, that still remains far behind the 25 point margin that women give Democrats.

The second is that voter enthusiasm is very high. That means a large turnout, which normally favors Democrats. The turnout will easily surpass other recent midterm elections, and could rival the last presidential election.

I have been hearing on cable news outlets that Democrats are worried because Hispanics are not enthusiastic about voting this year. This poll shows that to be untrue, with 71% of Hispanics saying they are enthusiastic about voting. That will also help Democrats (since they prefer a Democratic Congress by 40 points.