The Hill News

Republicans regained their lead over Democrats in Gallup's weekly generic ballot poll after falling back into a tie last week.

Forty-eight percent of registered voters said they prefer Republican congressional candidates compared to 43 percent who said they back Democratic office-seekers, according to the survey released Monday. 

Last week's tie represented the first time in the previous five weeks that the GOP did not lead in the poll, which is a key indicator of voters' moods heading into election season. Poll results have been volatile: the week before last, Republicans held a 51-41 point advantage over Democrats, a lead Gallup called "unprecedented."

Republicans continued to lead Democrats in voter enthusiasm measures. Ninety-six percent of Republicans said they would vote for a GOP candidate, the highest amount all year, compared to 90 percent of Democrats who said they would vote for a Democrat.

The number of Republicans who said they are "very enthusiastic" about voting in this year's congressional elections jumped three percentage points to 49 percent. Democratic enthusiasm also ticked up from 23 to 31 percent but the party is still 18 points behind the GOP.

The poll, conducted between Sept. 6-12, has a four percent margin of error.