NBC/WSJ poll: GOP on the rise

by Lucy McCalmont, Politico, September 13, 2013.

Republicans are now leading Democrats on handling several key issues, according to a new Wall Street Journal/NBC poll.

The poll, released Friday, shows more Americans think that the Republicans are doing a better job on the economy, foreign policy and reducing the federal deficit.

The GOP has an edge of 7 percentage points over the Democrats on the issue of foreign policy. This is up from 2006, when the GOP was behind by 9 percentage points.

And while Democrats still lead among issues such as health care and looking out for the middle class, their lead has been steadily decreasing. The Wall Street Journal highlights that the Democrats only hold a 17 percentage point lead over the GOP in looking out for the middle class, the lowest margin in decades. The Democrats also see the lowest margin ever on dealing with health care, at 8 percentage points.

Additionally, only 27 percent of Americans think the economy will improve over the next year, the lowest since July 2012.

The poll was conducted Sept. 5-8 and surveyed 1,000 adults with a margin of error of plus or minus 3.1 percentage points