--- title: Democrats Lead Republicans in Polls Three Months Ahead of Midterms description: For the first time in nearly a decade, more respondents to one survey said they prefer Democrats’ approach to the economy. canonical: https://time.com/article/2026/08/04/midterm-elections-republicans-democrats-polls-economy-trump/ author: Chad de Guzman article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2026-08-04T07:45:03.564Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T07:45:03.756Z article:section: Politics og:title: Democrats Lead Republicans in Polls Three Months Ahead of Midterms og:description: For the first time in nearly a decade, more respondents to one survey said they prefer Democrats’ approach to the economy. og:url: https://time.com/article/2026/08/04/midterm-elections-republicans-democrats-polls-economy-trump/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt1203e11f15a8a770/6a7192614819586c537ac0f1/donald-trump.jpg?branch=production&width=1024&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1024 og:image:height: 576 og:image:alt: donald-trump.jpg og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Democrats Lead Republicans in Polls Three Months Ahead of Midterms twitter:description: For the first time in nearly a decade, more respondents to one survey said they prefer Democrats’ approach to the economy. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt1203e11f15a8a770/6a7192614819586c537ac0f1/donald-trump.jpg?branch=production&width=1024&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Democrats Lead Republicans in Polls Three Months Ahead of Midterms > Sponsored content. 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Brief is TIME's Washington newsletter, written by senior correspondent Philip Elliott. It explains the politics, personalities and power dynamics behind the headlines, three times a week. It reaches 85,000 subscribers with a 37.0% open rate as of August 2026. #### 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.  by [Chad de Guzman](https://time.com/author/chad-de-guzman/)  ## Chad de Guzman Reporter Aug 4, 2026 7:45 AM UTC  U.S. President Donald Trump speaks at the White House in Washington, D.C., on Aug.3, 2026. U.S. President Donald Trump speaks at the White House in Washington, D.C., on Aug.3, 2026. Jim Watson—AFP/Getty Images  by [Chad de Guzman](https://time.com/author/chad-de-guzman/)  ## Chad de Guzman Reporter Aug 4, 2026 7:45 AM UTC With three months to go until the U.S. midterm elections in November, voters increasingly seem to prefer Democrats over the Republican Party that has had control of Congress for the last two years. Results of a [Reuters/Ipsos poll](https://www.ipsos.com/sites/default/files/ct/news/documents/2026-08/Reuters%20Ipsos%20August%20Large%20Sample%20Topline%208.3.26%5F0.pdf) released Monday showed that 42% of registered voters would vote for a Democratic congressional candidate at present, compared to 37% for a Republican. The same survey also found that, for the first time in nearly a decade of its polling series, voters perceive the Democratic Party as having a better plan for the economy than the Republican Party. And it’s not the only poll illustrating the diminishing relative appeal of Republicans. As of Aug. 3, the polling average from [election data organization Decision Desk HQ](https://votes.decisiondeskhq.com/polls/generic-ballot/national/lv-rv-adults) shows the Democratic Party holds a 6.7-point lead over the GOP on a generic congressional ballot. Results of a CNN/SSRS survey released in late July showed Democrats lead Republicans by [8 points](https://www.cnn.com/2026/07/30/politics/cnn-poll-midterm-generic-ballot-democrats-republicans-change) on a generic congressional ballot. That’s up from [5 points](https://www.cnn.com/2026/01/18/politics/cnn-poll-democrats-are-deeply-motivated-for-the-midterms-despite-having-dismal-views-of-party-leaders) in January. Emerson College Polling surveys of likely midterm election voters paint a similar picture. In [March](https://emersoncollegepolling.com/march-2026-national-poll-47-oppose-us-military-action-in-iran-40-support/), 49% of respondents said they planned to support the Democratic candidate, while 42% said they would vote Republican. By [May](https://emersoncollegepolling.com/may-2026-national-poll/), Democrats widened that lead by 2 percentage points, and by [July](https://emersoncollegepolling.com/july-2026-national-poll-democrats-with-11-point-generic-ballot-advantage/), the gap widened by another 2 points to 53% for Democrats and 42% for the GOP. An [Economist/YouGov poll](https://yougov.com/en-us/articles/55263-americans-like-their-member-of-house-more-than-they-like-congress-july-25-27-2026-economist-yougov-poll) in late July showed Democrats with a 4-point advantage over Republicans, up from 3 points in March. Republicans’ advantage on the economy has declined during President Donald Trump’s second term, in large part due to the [inflationary effects](https://time.com/article/2026/05/13/inflation-gas-prices-food-tariffs-trump/) of his tariffs and the [U.S.’s war with Iran](https://time.com/article/2026/06/21/the-toll-of-the-u-s--iran-war-by-the-numbers/). But while some GOP legislators are [worried about the President’s priorities](https://thehill.com/homenews/senate/6003165-senate-republicans-trump-political-liability-midterms/) hurting their electability, Trump, whose own approval ratings have [sunk to historic depths](https://www.nytimes.com/2026/08/01/us/politics/trump-polls-approval-rating.html), has shrugged off the polls as fake news. In a [Truth Social post Monday](https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/117031820986118471), he claimed his “REAL” polling numbers are the “best they have ever been,” adding: “Don’t believe the Radical Left’s Fake Poll numbers. 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