The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey found that, if the Congressional Election were held today, 48% of American voters say they would vote for the Democrat in their district and 36% would opt for the Republican. While that’s a bit closer than last month’s 18-point advantage for the Democrats, it’s the third straight month Nancy Pelosi’s Party has enjoyed a double-digit lead.

While Democrats lead among all age groups, their biggest advantage remains among the young. Among those under 30, Democrats lead by a 62% to 30% margin. They also have a five-point edge among white voters along with an enormous lead among minority voters.

The 48% support this month and 50% support last month have been the highest levels enjoyed by the Democrats this year. Prior to reaching these past two months, support for Democrats had stayed in the 45% to 47% range for six consecutive monthly surveys.

Support for Republicans had ranged from 32% to 38% over the past eight months.

A separate release showed that, during the month of September, 37.2% of Americans considered themselves to be Democrats and 32.6% were Republicans. That’s little changed from August and one more indication of a generally positive political environment for the Democrats.

Thirty-seven percent (37%) of voters see most Democrats in Congress as politically liberal while 42% say most Democrats in Congress are politically moderate. Those figures are little changed over the past month (see tracking history).

Perceptions of Republicans in Congress moved a bit back towards the center over the past month. Forty-five percent (45%) see most Republicans in Congress as politically conservative, down from 48% in September but up from 43% in August (see tracking history).Thirty-five percent (35%) now see the GOP Representatives as politically moderate. That figure is up three from a month ago.

Thirty-seven percent (37%) of voters say Democrats are Very Likely to retain control of Congress following the 2008 elections. Another 39% say they are Somewhat Likely to retain control.

Democrats are still trusted more than Republicans on key issues tracked by Rasmussen Reports.

Rasmussen Reports updates the Generic Congressional Ballot on a monthly basis. The Presidential Tracking Poll is updated daily.

Rasmussen Reports continuously updates key polling stats for all Republican and Democratic Presidential candidates along with ratings for Members of Congress, Other Political Figures, and Journalists.

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