Polls show Democrats ahead before November 3 midterms

National polls put Democrats ahead of Republicans in the contest for control of Congress, days before voters choose all 435 House members and 35 senators on November 3. The surveys show a national preference for Democratic candidates, but they do not determine which party will win the district and state races that decide control of either chamber. An NBC News poll of registered voters conducted October 28-30 found 52% preferred Democratic control of Congress, compared with 45% who preferred Republican control. The seven-point margin was two points wider than in the poll’s previous month’s survey. The poll surveyed 1,000 registered voters and had a margin of error of 3.1 percentage points. A separate Marist survey for NPR and PBS News, conducted October 19-20, found likely voters favored Democratic congressional candidates 52% to 44%. Among registered voters, Democrats led 52% to 42%. The likely-voter results had a margin of error of 3.8 percentage points. The survey also found 44% of likely voters said their ballot was mainly against President Donald Trump, while 21% said it was mainly in his support and 35% said he was not much of a factor. The polling comes amid high early...