Are Democrats headed for another midterm disaster?

(Image credit: (Win McNamee/Getty Images))

By Taegan Goddard

last updated 8 January 2015

The new ABC News/Washington Post poll is filled with very bad news for Democrats.

Here are three big warning signs:

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2. Republicans now hold a 5-point lead over Democrats in the generic congressional ballot among those who say they will definitely vote in the midterm elections.

3. President Obama's job approval rating has sunk to 41 percent, the lowest of his presidency.

These findings suggests Republicans are on their way to expanding the Senate map. There are now possible GOP pickup opportunities in states like Colorado, Michigan, and New Hampshire — not just the seven Democratic-held seats in conservative-leaning states like Alaska, Arkansas, Louisiana, Montana, North Carolina, South Dakota, and West Virginia.

Republicans need only six Senate seats to control both chambers of Congress.

If Democrats can't mobilize their voters better in this year's midterm election — a problem Sasha Issenberg frames nicely — this year could look like 2010 all over again.

Taegan D. Goddard is the founder of Political Wire, one of the earliest and most influential political websites. He also runs Wonk Wire and the Political Dictionary. Goddard spent more than a decade as managing director and COO of a prominent investment firm in New York City. Previously, he was a policy adviser to a U.S. senator and governor. Goddard is also co-author of You Won â€” Now What? (Scribner, 1998), a political management book hailed by prominent journalists and politicians from both parties. Goddard's essays on politics and public policy have appeared in dozens of newspapers across the country, including The Washington Post, USA Today, Boston Globe, San Francisco Chronicle, Chicago Tribune, Philadelphia Inquirer, and Christian Science Monitor. Goddard earned degrees from Vassar College and Harvard University. He lives in New York with his wife and three sons.