Approval of the Congress generally remains quite bleak.
| Approve | Disapprove | |
| Real Clear Pol. 12/3/19 | 22.4% | 65.6% |
| Real Clear Pol. 10/29/19 | 23.0% | 64.8% |
| Real Clear Pol. 9/10/19 | 16.6% | 71.4% |
| Real Clear Pol. 8/6/19 | 17.2% | 71.4% |
| Real Clear Pol. 6/11/19 | 20.0% | 69.8% |
| Real Clear Pol. 5/14/19 | 22.0% | 66.2% |
| Real Clear Pol. 4/2/19 | 22.8% | 66.8% |
| Real Clear Pol. 3/26/19 | 20.8% | 68.8% |
| Real Clear Pol. 2/26/19 | 19.4% | 70.0% |
| Real Clear Pol. 1/1/19 | 19.6% | 69.3% |
| Real Clear Pol. 1/4/18 | 15.8% | 72.6% |
Three recent surveys show Democrats leading Republicans in a generic congressional ballot.
| Democrats | Republicans | |
| Economist/YouGov 12/3/19 | 47% | 41% |
| Politico/Morning Consult 11/24/19 | 45% | 36% |
| NPR/PBS/Marist 11/15/19 | 46% | 41% |
[WW uses David Wasserman and the Cook Political Report for the House chart below.]
As of December 6, 2019, 31 incumbent members of the House are not seeking re-election – 9 Democrats and 22 Republicans.
The House of Representatives
2020
- Democrats 235
- Republicans 198
- Independents 1
- Vacancies 1
| Democrats | Republicans | |
| Safe in 2020 | 182 | 161 |
| Likely | 17 | 20 |
| Lean | 18 | 10 |
| Tossup | 18 | 8 |
The Senate
[WW uses Jennifer E. Duffy of the Cook Political Report and Inside Elections for the Senate chart below. When those two organizations do not agree, WW uses Sabato as a tie breaker.]
In 2020, Republicans will be defending 23 seats while Democrats will be defending 12 seats. It is unlikely that the Republicans will lose control of the Senate in this election.
There is one change in the chart below since the last edition of the Watch. Collins has moved from Toss Up to Lean Republican.
- Republicans 53
- Democrats 45
- Independents 2
| Democrats | Republicans | Independent | |
| Seats not up in 2020 | 33 | 30 | 2 |
| Safe in 2020 | 7 Coons Durbin Markey Warner Booker Merkley Reed |
13 Sullivan Cotton Risch Cassidy Daines Sasse Inhofe Graham Rounds Moore-Capito WY (Enzi) Tennessee (Alexander) Hyde-Smith |
|
| Likely | 3 Smith Shaheen NM (Udall) |
5 McConnell Cornyn Kansas (Roberts) Purdue GA (Open) |
|
| Lean | 1 Peters |
3 Ernst Jones Collins |
|
| Toss Up | 0 | 3 McSally Gardner Tillis |