Democrats hold a cushy edge in this key midterm election poll

In a rare bit of good news for Democrats heading into the midterm elections, the latest Pew survey finds the party with a decent five-point edge in the generic ballot. By a 47 percent to 42 percent split, respondents say they plan to vote for the Democratic candidate in November, per Pew.

Now for the caveats. Generic ballot polls have been trending in favor of Republicans recently, which should temper Democrats' optimism heading into the midterms.

Moreover, at this point in 2010, Pew gave Democrats a one-point edge on the generic ballot, and we saw how that election turned out. Plus, Republicans are still heavily favored to take control of the Senate. So even if Democrats do pick off a few House seats, they're still likely enter next year in the minority in both chambers of congress.

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