If it's in the News, it's in our Polls. Public opinion polling since 2003.

POLITICAL COMMENTARY

Where Things Stand (Good News for Democrats)

A Commentary by Douglas Schoen

Rasmussen's recent polling suggests compellingly that the Democratic Party maintains an enormously strong advantage over the Republican on all of the indicators that are monitored monthly.

The implication is clear: if an election were held right now, there would be a Democratic sweep at or above the levels seen in 2006.

Overall, the Democrats have held a double digit lead over the Republicans on generic vote for Congress over the past three months. Democratic support has been close to 50% for the past three months while Republican support has not cracked 40%

Also, Democrats hold a lead on nine of the ten issues Rasmussen tracks. On social issues, the lead frequently exceeded 10%.

Further, on party identification, the Democrats lead is a solid 4.5% which is close to where it was before the 2006 midterm elections and well ahead of the virtual dead heat that was in evidence before the 2004 Presidential election.

Finally, each of the leading Democratic Presidential candidates leads all top Republican hopefuls in general election match-ups.

In writing for this site, I do my very best to avoid partisanship or bias. Nevertheless, it is very hard to conclude that the Democrats are in anything but a commanding position as 2008 approaches.

Douglas Schoen is a founding and former partner of Penn Schoen & Berland, and a Fox News Contributor.

Schoen was President Bill Clinton's research and strategic consultant during the 1996 reelection campaign.

Rasmussen Reports is a media company specializing in the collection, publication and distribution of public opinion information.

We conduct public opinion polls on a variety of topics to inform our audience on events in the news and other topics of interest. To ensure editorial control and independence, we pay for the polls ourselves and generate revenue through the sale of subscriptions, sponsorships, and advertising. Nightly polling on politics, business and lifestyle topics provides the content to update the Rasmussen Reports web site many times each day. If it's in the news, it's in our polls. Additionally, the data drives a daily update newsletter and various media outlets across the country.

Some information, including the Rasmussen Reports daily Presidential Tracking Poll and commentaries are available for free to the general public. Subscriptions are available for $4.95 a month or 34.95 a year that provide subscribers with exclusive access to more than 20 stories per week on upcoming elections, consumer confidence, and issues that affect us all. For those who are really into the numbers, Platinum Members can review demographic crosstabs and a full history of our data.

To learn more about our methodology, click here.