Democratic Lead Widens in Generic Congressional Ballot
ActiVote’s September 11, 2026 Generic Congressional Ballot poll finds that the Democrats lead the Republicans by 4.6%. The poll was in the field between August 31 and September 10 (median field date of September 5). The poll was among 1000 likely midterm voters and has an average expected error of 3.1%.
The Republicans lead among rural voters, voters 50 and older, men, registered Republicans, Latino voters, voters with no more than a high school education and the (moderate) right. The two parties are exactly even among White voters. Democrats lead among all other groups, including suburban and urban voters, voters under 50, women, independents, Black voters, college and graduate degree holders, and at every income level.
Compared with our August 24 poll, the Democratic lead widened from 3.5% to 4.6%. Neither party moved on its own side: the Democrats again take 91% of registered Democrats and the Republicans 93% of registered Republicans. The movement is in the middle and it runs in both directions. The Democrats gained among voters with a graduate degree (from 53% to 64%), White voters (from 47% to 50%), rural voters (from 41% to 44%) and independents (from 55% to 57%), while losing ground among Latino voters (from 55% to 49%), voters with no more than a high school education (from 52% to 48%) and urban voters (from 64% to 60%). These group figures rest on subsamples for which the expected error is considerably larger than the 3.1% for the poll as a whole.
Political Spectrum
The following graph shows the support for Democrats and Republicans among left, moderate left, center, moderate right, and right voters. These groups are defined by splitting the national electorate in 5 equal sized groups of 20% each
The left (99%) and the moderate left (96%) are virtually unanimous in their support for the Democrats, as is the right (99%) in its support for the Republicans, with the moderate right at a slightly lower level (88%). The Democrats hold a 6% lead among centrists, back up from 4% in late August and level with the reading in early August.
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 | 1000 LV | Unweighted | Weighted | Generic Democrat | Generic Republican |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| National | ±3.1% MoE | 100% | 100% | 52.3% | 47.7% |
| Political Spectrum | Left | 30% | 20% | 99% | 1% |
| Moderate Left | 34% | 20% | 96% | 4% | |
| Center | 14% | 20% | 53% | 47% | |
| Moderate Right | 11% | 20% | 12% | 88% | |
| Right | 12% | 20% | 1% | 99% | |
| Region | rural | 36% | 35% | 44% | 56% |
| suburban | 37% | 31% | 53% | 47% | |
| urban | 27% | 34% | 60% | 40% | |
| Age | 18-29 | 31% | 14% | 65% | 35% |
| 30-49 | 39% | 27% | 54% | 46% | |
| 50-64 | 18% | 24% | 49% | 51% | |
| 65+ | 12% | 36% | 48% | 52% | |
| Gender | F | 32% | 53% | 59% | 41% |
| M | 68% | 47% | 45% | 55% | |
| Party | D | 47% | 38% | 91% | 9% |
| R | 26% | 35% | 7% | 93% | |
| I | 23% | 24% | 57% | 43% | |
| Ethnicity | White | 81% | 71% | 50% | 50% |
| Black | 7% | 10% | 62% | 38% | |
| Latino | 8% | 12% | 49% | 51% | |
| Income | Low | 28% | 22% | 51% | 49% |
| Middle | 30% | 29% | 54% | 46% | |
| High | 42% | 49% | 52% | 48% | |
| Education | HS | 22% | 25% | 48% | 52% |
| College | 67% | 60% | 51% | 49% | |
| Grad | 11% | 16% | 64% | 36% |