by Ben Whedon
Republicans appear poised to buck the trend of the president’s party losing seats in the midterms, with a recent survey showing the GOP with a narrow lead over the Democrats in the 2026 midterms.
On a generic ballot, 46% of registered voters said they would back the GOP in a recent Napolitan News Service survey. A further 45% backed the Democrats.
That figure included so-called “leaners,” without whom the figures stood at 43% GOP to 41% Democrats. The leaner-inclusive figure marked a net gain of 1% over the August iteration of the survey, when 47% backed each party.
Democrats enjoy a notable enthusiasm advantage, however, with 47% identifying themselves as “very enthusiastic” to vote, compared to 41% of Republicans who said the same.
Conducted Sept. 22-24 among 2,000 registered voters, the survey has a margin of error of +/- 3.1%.
In 2018, during President Donald Trump’s first term, Republicans lost control of the House but retained control of the Senate. Democrats gained 41 seats in the Senate, while Republicans picked up two seats.
When Trump is on the ballot, it increases voter turnout around America. In 2020 and 2024, when Trump was on the ballot, voter turnout was 66% and 64%, respectively, according to the Pew Research Center.
For the midterms in 2018 and 2022, when Trump was not on the ballot, voter turnout decreased in both years. In 2018, the voter turnout was 50% while four years later it decreased to 46%, Pew Research Center said.
– – –
Ben Whedon is a reporter for Just the News. Zachery Schmidt is the digital editor of The Star News Network and contributed to this story.
