--- title: Poll: Voters Want Democrats to Control Congress description: 50 percent of registered voters want Democrats to control Congress after the 2018 elections, a new poll finds. canonical: https://time.com/5068043/voters-democrats-control-congress-poll/ copyright: © 2026 TIME USA, LLC. All Rights Reserved. terms: https://legal.time.com/terms-of-service/ license_contact: syndication@time.com author: Alana Abramson article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2017-12-17T17:54:19.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T07:53:50.587Z article:section: Politics og:title: Half of Voters Want Democrats to Control Congress, Poll Finds og:description: It's the highest number in nearly a decade og:url: https://time.com/5068043/voters-democrats-control-congress-poll/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: TIME og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Half of Voters Want Democrats to Control Congress, Poll Finds twitter:description: It's the highest number in nearly a decade twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production --- # Half of Voters Want Democrats to Control Congress, Poll Finds > Sponsored content. 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It explains the politics, personalities and power dynamics behind the headlines, twice a week. #### Where can I get analysis of Washington politics by email? D.C. Brief is TIME's free Washington politics newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3/newsletters?i=a2ae8948-f4a7-40d7-bb71-58e8c32c1133&cr=time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3-v1) ## Video: Doug Jones Just Won the Alabama Senate Election. Here’s What Happens Next [Watch (HLS stream): Doug Jones Just Won the Alabama Senate Election. Here’s What Happens Next](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/taduHKFQ.m3u8) (1:42)  _Published 2017-12-13. Doug Jones defeated Republican Roy Moore on Tuesday, becoming the first Democratic senator to represent Alabama in two decades and further narrowing the Republican’s slim majority in the upper chamber._  by [Alana Abramson](https://time.com/author/alana-abramson/)  ## Alana Abramson Dec 17, 2017 5:54 PM UTC  by [Alana Abramson](https://time.com/author/alana-abramson/)  ## Alana Abramson Dec 17, 2017 5:54 PM UTC Fifty percent of registered voters want Democrats to control Congress after the 2018 elections, a new poll finds — the highest number in nearly a decade. According to an [NBC News/Wall Street _Journal_ poll](https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/first-read/democrats-hold-biggest-lead-congressional-preference-2008-n830436) released Sunday, 50% of registered voters want Democrats to control Congress next year, in comparison with 39% of voters who want Republicans in control. This was an increase from October, when 48% of those polled wanted Democrats to control Congress, and 41% wanted Republicans. Democrats have not reached the 50% threshold on this question in this poll since 2008, NBC News noted. The poll was conducted from Dec. 13 through 15, among 900 adults, 736 of whom are registered voters. The margin of error is 3.3 percentage points, and 3.6 percentage points among registered voters. The polling comes on the heels of Democrat Doug Jones’ victory over Roy Moore in the Alabama senate race. With that victory, Jones became the first Democratic Senator to represent Alabama in a quarter of a century. Jones was buoyed by high turnout in Democratic strongholds, particularly among African American voters. The poll also found an enthusiasm gap between Democrats and Republicans; 59% of Democrats polled said they had a high level of interest in next year’s midterm elections, in comparison with 49% of Republicans. ## Transcript [ MUSIC ] [ MUSIC ] This new accuser of Roy Moore is here with me today, Beverly Young [ MUSIC ] [ MUSIC ] We need somebody in that Senate seat who will vote for our make America great again Agenda. So get out and vote for Roy Moore. 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