Democrats continue to lead Republicans by double-digits in the Rasmussen Reports generic congressional ballot. When given the choice, 47% of voters nationwide would vote for their district’s Democratic candidate, while 34% would choose their Republican candidate.

Those results are little changed from last week, when Democrats held a 47% to 35% advantage. From now through Election Day, Rasmussen Reports is tracking the Generic Congressional Ballot on a weekly basis. Crosstabs are available for Premium Members.

Among voters who see economic issues as the most important in the upcoming election, 58% would vote Democratic while just 25% would vote Republican. A separate national survey found that the economy is a very important issue to 81% of voters. On voters who see national security issues as more important, the Republicans have a 53% to 34% advantage. National security is a very important issue for 68% of voters.

During Election 2004, more than 40% of voters consistently rated national security issues as most important and just one-in-four thought economic issues were the key voting issue. For Election 2008, those numbers have reversed. This week’s data shows that 42% consider economic issues to be the top priority while 23% believe national security issues are most important. This comes at a time when the Rasmussen Consumer Index shows consumer and investor confidence hovering around record lows.

A separate Rasmussen Reports survey found that most consumers believe lower gas prices are the key to economic recovery. A survey released today found that balancing the federal budget would also benefit the economy, but most do not believe John McCain would achieve this goal during his first term in office.

On the generic ballot, the Democrats enjoy a 43% to 38% advantage among men and a 51% to 31% lead among women.

The Democrats steady lead on the Congressional ballot may surprise some when considering that just 9% of voters give the current Congress good or excellent ratings, representing the lowest approval rating in tracking history. Just over half (52%) say Congress is doing a poor job.

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Crosstabs are available for Premium Members only.