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GOP Now Within Three Points of Democrats

September 17, 2006

- Support for the Democratic Party fell this month in the United States, according to a poll by Opinion Dynamics released by Fox News. 41 per cent of respondents would vote for the Democratic contender in their congressional district, while 38 per cent would back the Republican candidate.

Support for the Democrats dropped by seven points since late August, while backing for the Republicans increased by six points. American voters will renew the House of Representatives and one-third of the Senate on Nov. 7.

In the November 2004 congressional ballot, the Republican Party elected 232 lawmakers to the United States House of Representatives, while the Democratic Party secured 202 seats. The Republicans also have a majority in the Senate, with 55 members in the 100-seat upper house.

On Sept. 15, Republican National Committee (RNC) chairman Ken Mehlman admitted that U.S. voters "are in a sour mood," adding, "We're in a head wind because we're in a tough war." In an e-mail to Republican supporters sent this month, Mehlman warned that a Democratic majority in Congress could "maybe" lead to the impeachment of U.S. president George W. Bush.

Polling Data

Thinking ahead to this November's elections, if the congressional election were held today, would you vote for the Democratic candidate in your district or the Republican candidate in your district?

Sept. 13

Aug. 29

Aug. 9

Democrat

41%

48%

48%

Republican

38%

32%

30%

Other / Not sure

21%

20%

22%

Source: Opinion Dynamics / Fox News
Methodology: Telephone interviews with 900 American likely voters, conducted on Sept. 12 and Sept. 13, 2006. Margin of error is 3 per cent.