Democrats should control Congress, according to respondents to a national poll by NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll released Monday. The poll comes as Republicans worry about Donald Trump's impact on whether they can maintain a majority in Congress.
Respondents preferred Democrats by a margin of 49 to 42 percent, the party's biggest advantage since October 2013, according the poll, which was conducted immediately after the revelation of Trump's lewd 2005 comments but before Sunday night's debate.
In a two-way competition, Hillary Clinton's lead also widened against Trump by 7 points from last month.
The poll said Clinton is also leading Trump by 11 points in a four-way ballot with Libertarian candidate Gary Johnson and Green party candidate Jill Stein.
"Trump is in a weaker position than our September track. It also does not mean he can't get these points back," said NBC-WSJ co-pollster Bill McInturff.
The poll also has these numbers on the 2005 audio of Trump:
- 41 percent say Trump's words are completely unacceptable, while 31 percent say they're inappropriate (but typical of how some men talk in private).
- 52 percent disagree that Trump's comments should NOT be an issue in the campaign, versus 42 percent who agree here.
- 38 percent say it disqualifies Trump from being president, while 42 percent say it does not disqualify him.
- 67 percent of Republican voters say they still support him as nominee, versus 9 percent who can no longer support him, and 14 percent who want him to drop out.
The poll was taken October 8 through the 9 by 500 registered voters with a margin of error of plus-minus 4.4 percentage points.