Poll: Democrats pull even with GOP on which party is better for counterterrorism

A broader measure of party preferences included in the Sept. 6-9 poll asks respondents to say whether they think the Republican Party or the Democratic Party would do a better job of handling whatever national problem they currently think is most important. This question is a follow-up to Gallup’s open-ended Most Important Problem measure, which allows respondents to state, in open-ended fashion, what they think is the nation’s top problem.

Democrats hold a 10-percentage-point lead on this measure, 49% to 39%. That is a reversal from 2011, when Republicans led 44% to 37%, but is similar to Democrats’ lead from 2006 to 2009.