The new Politico poll of likely voters in swing states and competitive districts isn’t all that bad for Democrats. Yes, the poll found that respondents would prefer to vote for a generic Republican over a generic Democrat, 41 percent to 34 percent. It also found that they’re not happy with Barack Obama: 59 percent said they disapproved of his job performance as president.

And yet, the poll found substantial support for the Democratic view on two crucial issues: Gun control and immigration reform.

A full 79 percent of respondents said they favored stricter background checks for gun purchasers in the United States, with only 9 percent strongly opposed and 12 percent somewhat opposed. Seventy-five percent said they considered the issue either somewhat or very important in determining which candidate they would support in November.

via A Preference for Republicans, Gun Control and Immigration Reform – NYTimes.com.