Poll: Strong majority favors balanced deficit-reduction deal

A strong majority of voters prefer a "fiscal cliff" compromise that includes higher tax rates and entitlement reform, a new poll found.

According to an NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll released Wednesday, 65 percent said Democrats should be willing to accept cuts to Social Security and Medicare, and Republicans should be willing to accept higher tax rates.

Furthermore, support for a compromise crosses both parties, with 68 percent of Democrats in favor and 66 percent of Republicans.

Only 28 percent said they didn’t want the leaders of their party to compromise on the issues important to them.

It’s the latest survey to suggest that while Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) could get pushback from some conservative and Tea Party leaders, he has public support to pursue a deal that includes some tax hikes.

According to a Bloomberg poll released Wednesday, almost half of all GOP voters said the president has an election mandate to raise taxes on the rich.

The NBC/WSJ poll of 1,000 adults was conducted between Dec. 6 and 9 and has a margin of error of 4.4 percentage points.

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