With a spate of recent polls you could say the Democrats are “at risk” politically. With the latest CNN/Opinion Research poll now enters officially into the “danger zone.” The Democrats have lost their edge on the economy:
Democrats have lost their large advantage over Republicans when when Americans are asked which party would do a better job with the economy, according to a new national poll.
A CNN/Opinion Research Corporation survey released Thursday indicates that 48 percent of Americans say Republicans in Congress would do a better job dealing with the economy, with 45 percent saying that congressional Democrats would better handle the issue. That’s a switch from last August, when Democrats held a 52 percent to 39 percent advantage on the economy.
If this continues unabated, the Democrats will indeed face a route come election day. But it isn’t all bad news (almost):
According to the poll, Democrats have some ground on health care, but not as much as on the economy. In August, 51 percent thought that Democrats would do a better job with health care reform than the GOP. That’s now down to 48 percent, but it’s still slightly higher than the 46 percent who say Republicans would do a better job on the issue.
“Democratic losses on the economy are roughly twice as big as their losses on health care,” says CNN Polling Director Keating Holland. “That’s evidence that the economy – not health care – is the chief reason for the Republicans’ current advantage over the Democrats in the midterm congressional races.”
A CNN survey released Tuesday indicated that the GOP held a four point edge over Democrats in voters’ choice for Congress, a switch from last fall, when Democrats held a six-point advantage.
Once again: It’s the economy stupid. It’s still a long way to election day — but not perhaps long enough for Democats.
Joe Gandelman is a former fulltime journalist who freelanced in India, Spain, Bangladesh and Cypress writing for publications such as the Christian Science Monitor and Newsweek. He also did radio reports from Madrid for NPR’s All Things Considered. He has worked on two U.S. newspapers and quit the news biz in 1990 to go into entertainment. He also has written for The Week and several online publications, did a column for Cagle Cartoons Syndicate and has appeared on CNN.