WASHINGTON – Democrats hold a 14-point lead over Republicans in the battle for the U.S. House, according to a Quinnipiac University National Poll released Wednesday.

The poll of 1,038 voters showed that Americans preferred Democratic candidates for Congress over GOP candidates by 52 percent to 38 percent. Democrats were boosted by independent voters, who favored them over Republicans by 50 percent to 35 percent.

As in most polls, the results revealed a gender gap. Men narrowly favored Democrats over Republicans by six percentage points, 48 percent to 42 percent, while women favored Democrats over Republicans by 20 percentage points, 55 percent to 35 percent.

White voters were split, with 48 percent favoring Republicans and 45 percent supporting Democrats. Black voters overwhelmingly preferred Democrats to Republicans, 84 percent to 7 percent. Latino voters also favored Democrats over Republicans, 64 percent to 22 percent.

The one thing most voters agreed on: Congress is doing a bad job. Nearly three-quarters of the voters surveyed – 72 percent – said they disapproved of Congress.

"Could the 'blue wave' become a tsunami?" said Tim Malloy, assistant director of the Quinnipiac University Poll. "There are a lot of factors, and eight weeks of campaigning, that make up the answer to that question. Whoever wins, they're going into a Congress with an abysmal approval rating."

Congress should be more of a check on President Donald Trump, according to 58 percent of voters. However, while Democrats and independents want the legislative branch to rein in the president, Republicans strongly disagreed. Among GOP voters, 62 percent said Congress is already doing enough to check Trump, while 11 percent said lawmakers need to do more.

A majority of voters – 58 percent – said they do not want Congress to begin impeachment proceedings against Trump. That result helps explain why most Democratic candidates have avoided talking about impeachment.

The poll had some rare good news for the press.

A majority of voters trust the news media more than Trump to tell the truth about important issues – 54 percent to 30 percent. However, Republicans trust Trump more by an overwhelming 72 percent to 12 percent.

Most Americans, 69 percent, said they believe the news media is an important part of democracy. A minority of voters, 21 percent, said the media is "the enemy of the people," a phrase often used by Trump to blast the press.

The poll was conducted from Sept. 6-9 and has a margin of error of about 4 percentage points in either direction.

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