Republican candidates jumped to record 12-point lead over Dems on Generic Congressional Ballot

Republican candidates have jumped out to a record-setting 12-point lead over Democrats on the Generic Congressional Ballot for the week ending Sunday, August 15, 2010. This is the biggest lead the GOP has held in over a decade of Rasmussen Reports surveying.

A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that 48% of Likely Voters would vote for their district's Republican congressional candidate, while 36% would opt for his or her Democratic opponent. Support for Republicans is up two points from the previous week, while support for Democrats dropped three points.Republicans have led on the Generic Congressional Ballot since June of last year, and their lead hasn’t fallen below five points since the beginning of December. Three times this year, they've posted a 10-point lead. Prior to this survey, GOP support since June 2009 has ranged from 41% to 47%. Support for Democrats in the same period has run from 35% to 40%.

Eighty-three percent (83%) of Republicans back their party's candidate, while 75% of Democrats support the candidate of their party. Voters not affiliated with either party prefer the GOP candidate by a 52% to 21% margin.Fifty-four percent (54%) of white voters favor the Republican, but 77% of African-Americans prefer the Democrat. (Continues here at Rasmussen)

 GALLUP: GOP Shows Strongest Positioning Yet in 2010 Vote Test 

GOP Leads Democrats by 50% to 43% in latest update on congressional voting preferences