Washington (CNN) - A CNN Poll of Polls compiled and released Monday indicates that 51 percent of likely voters would choose a Republican candidate for Congress if the election were held today. Forty-three percent of likely voters say they would choose a Democratic candidate.
This newest edition of the CNN Poll of Polls is an average of six national polls conducted during the last week of October and released Sunday and Monday: CNN/Opinion Dynamics (10/27-30), Pew Research Center (10/27-30), NBC News/Wall Street Journal (10/28-30), USA Today/Gallup (10/28-31), ABC News/Washington Post (10/25-28), and Reuters-Ipsos (10/28-31). The Poll of Polls does not have a sampling error.
The generic ballot question asks respondents if they would vote for a Democrat or Republican in their congressional district, without naming any specific candidates. It is used by many polling organizations, including CNN/Opinion Research Corporation surveys. In the battle for control of Congress, the generic ballot is arguably the most watched polling indicator, but it should not be considered a one-for-all.
On election eve, the Republicans are ahead of Democrats by eight points when voters are asked which candidate they would choose for Congress. The margin between Democrats and Republicans has doubled since the last CNN Poll of Polls, compiled three days ago.
Check out CNN's new Polling Center, which provides the most comprehensive polling data covering national questions and the top 2010 election races of any news organization in the political landscape.