Majority of voters want Democrats to take control of the House

Fifty-one percent of voters say they would prefer a Democratic victory in the U.S. House of Representatives, while only 39% want Republicans to win control.(CN) — Five weeks out from the midterms, Quinnipiac University found in a new poll released Tuesday favorable results for Democrats, with more than half of voters wanting them to take control of the U.S. House of Representatives.Out of 1,032 self-identified registered voters surveyed from Sept. 24-27, 51% said they wanted Democrats to win control of the House, while only 39% wanted Republicans to win the House. Nine percent did not offer an opinion.Democrats also won among independents, with 54% of them preferring a Democratic victory in the House.Although 69% of voters said they disapprove of how Democrats in Congress are handling their jobs, the pollsters found voters trust Democrats more on most major issues.“A warning light flashing red for the GOP scrambling to stay in power. From the economy to international conflicts to AI, independent voters are siding with Democrats, even though a vast majority of them disapprove of the job Democrats are currently doing in Congress,” Quinnipiac University polling analyst Tim Malloy said in a statement.Even on immigration, usually considered a strong issue for Republicans, voters preferred Democrats 47% to 44%, within the survey’s margin of error of 3.8 percentage points.Meanwhile, when asked for their opinion of President Donald Trump, 61% disapproved of the way he is handling his job as president, matching an all-time high disapproval rating last reached in Quinnipiac’s Jan. 18, 2021, poll conducted shortly after Trump supporters attacked the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. Voters also gave Trump his highest ever disapproval rating on his handling of the economy, with 65% disapproving.The pollsters also queried voters’ thoughts on the issue of AI development, an area of heightened concern following reports of AI models breaking containment and hacking external organizations. Seventy-one percent of voters said they would be more likely to vote for a candidate who supports stricter guardrails for AI development, and 79% think, when it comes to AI, safety is more important than staying at the forefront of innovation.Voters were also asked about data center construction, and a majority from both parties — 55% of Republicans and 85% of Democrats — said they would oppose building an AI data center in their community.“Data centers, not long ago just the vague description for a network of massive structures needed for an emerging industry, are now the subject of the ‘NIMBY’ rallying cry,” Malloy said. “Voters overwhelmingly are saying ’not in my backyard.’”Subscribe to our free newslettersOur weekly newsletter Closing Arguments offers the latest about ongoing trials, major litigation and rulings in courthouses around the U.S. and the world, while the monthly Under the Lights dishes the legal dirt from Hollywood, sports, Big Tech and the arts.Additional Reads