Democrats have a 7-point lead over Republicans in voting intention for Congress. That's Democrats' largest lead since the Economist / YouGov polls resumed asking this question after the 2024 election, and in part reflects Republicans being more likely than Democrats to say they won't vote or aren't sure how they'd vote.
What you need to know about Americans' views on the 2026 congressional elections, as of the February 13 - 16, 2026 Economist / YouGov Poll:
- 47% of registered voters say they would vote for the Democratic Party candidate if elections for U.S. Congress were held today, while 40% would vote for the Republican Party candidate
- Democrats have consistently led on this question in Economist / YouGov polls dating back to spring 2025, but this is the largest share of voters to prefer Democrats in any of the polls this election cycle
- Democrats' 7-point lead in preference for Congress is their largest in any Economist / YouGov polls this election cycle
- It's also a bigger Democratic edge in U.S. Congress vote preferences than at this point in the 2024 election (Democrats up by 2 points) or the 2022 election (Democrats up by 6 points)
- 97% of Democrats say they would vote for Democratic candidates for Congress, bigger than the 89% of Republicans who say they would vote for Republican candidates
- Independents prefer Democratic candidates over Republican candidates by a two-to-one margin: 44% vs. 22%
- Democrats lead 52% to 41% among registered voters who follow what's going on in government and public affairs most of the time, an 11-point edge
- Democrats have a 5-point lead among those who follow the news some of the time, and trail by 2 points among those who rarely follow what's going on in government and public affairs
- Registered voters who follow the news less closely are more likely to say they won't vote, that they aren't sure which party they'd vote for, and that they'd vote for a third-party candidate
- Significant shares of Republican-leaning registered voters say they wouldn't vote or aren't sure how they would vote, especially among those who don't closely follow the news — while the vast majority of Democratic-leaning registered voters say they would vote for Democratic candidates
- Among those who follow political news most of the time, 96% of Democrats and Democratic-leaning registered voters say they'd vote for the Democratic candidate for Congress, compared to 92% of Republicans and Republican-leaning candidates who would vote for the Republican candidate
- Among those who follow political news some of the time, 91% of Democratic-leaners would vote for Democrats, while 84% of Republican-leaners would vote for Republicans
- Among those who follow political news only now and then or hardly at all, 94% of Democratic-leaners say they'd vote for Democratic candidates — almost identical to the Democratic share among high-news-consumption Democratic-leaners
- But only 74% of Republican-leaners who rarely follow political news say they'd vote for Republican candidates, while 25% of them say they'd vote for another candidate, wouldn't vote, or aren't sure who they'd vote for
Image: Getty (Tom Brenner / Stringer)
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