GOP leads in generic poll; only 36% would vote to reelect their own member of Congress

For the first time since '02, GOPers lead the Washington Post's generic congressional ballot, giving Dems reason to worry about their electoral prospects this Fall.

48% of registered voters picked the GOP candidate when asked who they would cast a ballot for this year, while 45% said they would choose a Dem. That's the first time a GOP candidate has led among likely or registered voters since Oct. 27, '02, when the GOP sported a 49%-47% lead among likely voters.

Two years ago, just days before the '08 elections when Dems picked up 21 GOP-held seats, Dems led the generic ballot by 10 points among registered voters and by 6 points among likely voters. Voters still trust Dems to do a better job solving problems the country faces, by a 43%-37% margin, but that's well below even the margin by which the public backed Dems in Nov. '09, when they picked Dems by a 47%-31% margin.

A paltry 36% of voters said they would vote to re-elect their own members of Congress, while 56% said they would "look around" for someone new.