Desire for Democratic Congress may help Merkley

House Speaker Jeff Merkley (D-Portland) may have a reason to smile despite last week's poll numbers that show him trailing incumbent U.S. Sen. Gordon Smith (R-Pendleton) in his bid to give Oregon two Democrats in the U.S Senate.

According to a poll released by the Wall Street Journal, 52 percent of Americans hope for a Democratic-controlled congress at the end of this election, while 33 percent of Americans hope for a Republican-controlled congress. These numbers come despite 79 percent of Americans disapproving of the job the current Democratic-controlled congress is doing.

The dissatisfaction with current elected officials combined by the desire to elect more democratic legislators could be a potent double-whammy for Merkley, who is in the latest poll is trailing Smith by a margin of 47 percent to 38 percent.

Those polled said job creation and economic growth as the most important issues, followed by the war in Iraq.

One thousand likely voters were surveyed for this poll, with a margin of error +/- 3.5 percentage points.

Read the Wall Street Journal's poll here.