Democrats erase 10-point Gallup gap

Say goodbye to the 10-point lead Republicans enjoyed in last week's Gallup poll of generic congressional preferences. 

Gallup's weekly tracking poll of the generic ballot, a key predictor of voters' actions in elections, showed Democrats and Republicans tied at 46 percent -- down from the 10-point lead the GOP held just a week ago.

The shift, the polling group noted, marked the first time in five weeks where Republicans didn't hold some sort of advantage over Democrats. Last week's 51-41 percent lead was heralded as "unprecedented" for Republicans.

The survey, which tracks voters' preference in a matchup of a generic Democratic and Republican candidates for Congress, still shows a hearty enthusiasm gap for the GOP. The party still leads Democrats by 25 percent in voter enthusiasm, and the GOP leads independents by 22 percent in the same measure.

Still, the poll provides some good news for Democrats on a day in which other polls showed their party ready for a possible drubbing this November.

The latest poll, conducted Aug. 30-Sept. 5, has a four percent margin of error.