Half of Americans say they want Democrats to control Congress after the 2018 midterm elections, according to an NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll released Thursday.

Fifty percent of those surveyed said they want Democrats to control the legislative branch, while 42 percent said they want Republicans to retain control of Congress.

It's the first time either party has reached the 50 percent threshold on the question since 2008, NBC noted.

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Republicans have swept four contested House special elections this year, boosting President Trump Donald John TrumpFederal prosecutor speaks out, says Barr 'has brought shame' on Justice Dept. Former Pence aide: White House staffers discussed Trump refusing to leave office Progressive group buys domain name of Trump's No. 1 Supreme Court pick MORE and congressional Republicans's agenda. Democrats, meanwhile, have seen a surge of candidates running for the House since Trump entered office.

Trump's approval rating in the newest poll has stayed steady at 40 percent, while 55 percent continue to disapprove of the job he is doing.

The survey of 900 adults was conducted June 17-20 and has a margin of error of 3.27 percentage points.