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Democrats and Republicans have starkly different visions for how to fight poverty in the U.S.

Casting a shadow over Democrats' prospects of retaining the Senate this fall, a USA Today/Pew Research Center poll released Monday shows the strongest support for Republican candidates six months out of a midterm than has been seen in decades.

Forty-seven percent of the 1,501 registered voters surveyed across the country in late April said they're leaning toward supporting the Republican candidate over the Democrat in their district this November, compared with 43 percent who said the opposite.

It's a striking margin considering the same poll taken in 2010 and 1994 - years that ushered strong conservative waves into the Capitol - showed Democrats either edging or in a dead heat with Republicans. It's also a notable shift: As recently as January, Americans reported being more inclined to vote Democrat in the fall.

House Republicans already hold a 233-seat majority, including most swing seats, but the changing tide could help the GOP gain the six seats needed to acquire control of the Senate. One problem Democrats continually face is turning out large numbers of supporters in midterm elections despite their success in the past two presidential elections.

President Obama warned about the enthusiasm gap last month at a Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee fundraiser in Miami: "The challenge is that our politics in Washington have become so toxic that people just lose faith and finally they just say: 'You know what? I'm not interested, I'm not going to bother, I'm not going to vote,'" he said.

"In midterms we get clobbered," he went on, "either because we don't think it's important or we've become so discouraged about what's happening in Washington that we think it's not worth our while."

Though early, the poll also suggests a potential blue-to-red paint job at the White House in 2016.

Downbeat by the economy and glitches with the Affordable Care Act, Americans by more than a 2-1 ratio say they're unhappy with the direction of the country. Sixty-five percent say they'd like Mr. Obama's successor to pursue different policies and programs than the current administration.

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New poll suggests bad news for Democrats in midterms

In their first bids for elected office, Kevin Strouse and Shaughnessy Naughton are shooting high: Each wants to be the Democrat to run against Republican incumbent Mike Fitzpatrick in Pennsylvania's Eighth Congressional District.

But Strouse, 34, a former Army Ranger and CIA analyst, and Naughton, 35, a cancer researcher turned businesswoman, have been hesitant to trade juicy political haymakers. And their platforms are largely similar.

So their primary race hasn't grabbed headlines like the bombastic battle for U.S. Rep. Allyson Schwartz's seat in Montgomery County, or two highly competitive contests in South Jersey.

Still, national and local Democrats have long desired the seat, which covers Bucks County and a sliver of Montgomery County, where Democrats slightly outnumber Republicans.

The question now is whether any recent developments - such as a television ad from Strouse, or a strong fund-raising quarter for Naughton - will lead to sustained attention for them and help their quest to unseat Fitzpatrick.

"This is clearly among the most coveted seats for Democrats," said Chris Borick, a political science professor at Muhlenberg College in Allentown.

Borick called the district "one of the only remaining truly competitive districts in the state," although several national forecasting organizations consider Fitzpatrick the favorite in this year's race.

Fitzpatrick won the 2012 election by 12 points, even with President Obama at the top of the Democratic ticket. And he had $1.5 million in cash on hand at the beginning of last quarter, nearly triple that of his closest potential opponent.

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Democrats take high road in Pa. Eighth Congressional District primary

PORTSMOUTH With the fight under way to recapture the Democratic majority in both the U.S. Senate and N.H. House of Representatives, the Rockingham County Democrats met to pat themselves on the back for the achievements they've accomplished and rally their supporters moving forward.

After dining on an authentic New England clambake, complete with lobsters, appetites turned political. Those in attendance had forked over $40 each for the feast and to help fill the pockets of the Rockingham County Democrats, who outlined their objectives for the period until the next presidential election in 2016.

They spoke of their differences from Republicans and the hardships they have faced in getting legislation passed because of that divide.

"There are many, many Republicans in Congress who don't even know anyone in the middle class, and that's a problem," Rep. Carol Shea-Porter said.

Shea-Porter called on those in attendance to get to work rallying supporters.

"The only way you can justify a tan in August is if you've marched in all of the political parades," she joked, adding that citizens should invite those of like minds to garner as much support as possible for the Democratic Party. Of those not planning to vote for Democratic candidates, she suggested, "maybe keep them home." She referred to the fight against Republicans as a game of "Whac-A-Mole."

However, Shea-Porter also said it is the responsibility of the party to "make sure all voices are heard, all voices are honored."

"We still have work to do, but we can win again and again with the Democratic message," she said. That message includes a strong belief in "wealth creation" and a "responsibility to each other."

"It's our privilege to reach back and bring somebody else forward," she stressed.

After calling on attendees to "resist the Koch brothers," Shea-Porter introduced keynote speaker Joaquin Castro, a congressman from Texas.

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Democrats gather to rally support for the party

11 - Immigration Reform
The rights of legal and illegal aliens to employment and to medical and educational services are debated by U.S. Court of Appeals judge Arlin Adams, Notre Da...

By: David A.

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11 - Immigration Reform - Video

Vice President Joe Biden renewed the administration's push for immigration reform Monday, saying legislation to legalize some of the estimated 11 million immigrants living in the U.S. illegally would provide a "considerable shot in the arm" to the United States.

The vice president's remarks came at a Cinco de Mayo breakfast he hosted at the Naval Observatory, where about 100 lawmakers, advocates and representatives of the U.S. and Mexican governments had gathered. He ticked through a list of economic benefits he said would accompany broad reform legislation, including an increase in the gross domestic product (GDP), a reduction in the deficit and more money for the Social Security Trust.

His remarks were aimed in part at House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, who seemed poised to offer a Republican response to the Senate's bipartisan immigration bill earlier this year, but ended up backing away when there was insufficient support among his conference. Boehner blames the president for the delay, saying his repeated use of executive action on a range of issues has bred mistrust among Republicans that he would enforce any immigration laws they might pass.

"The message is simple: we don't have to redouble our efforts, we have to redouble our demand that the House of Representatives takes up legislation that's going to match the strong bill that came out of the United States Senate," Biden said at the breakfast. "It's time for John--he's a good man, John Boehner--to stand up and other Republicans to stand up. Not for us to stand up...It's time for him to stand up, stand up at not let the minority--I think it's a minority--of the Republican Party in the House keep us from moving in a way that will change the circumstances for millions and millions of lives."

Boehner found himself in hot water last month after he mimicked House Republicans crying over the prospect of tackling immigration reform during a speech in his home district.

Last week, told reporters that there was no mocking, although, "you tease the ones you love." He reiterated that he believed that Americans' mistrust of the president was the biggest impediment to reform.

Biden has found himself in hot water for immigration remarks on the other end of the spectrum. At a speech to the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce in March, he said that 11 million undocumented immigrants, "are already Americans, in my view."

He defended those remarks at the Cinco de Mayo breakfast.

"They may not be citizens, but they are Americans," Biden said. "In the definition of Teddy Roosevelt, he said Americanism is not a question of birthplace or creed or line of descent, it's a question of principles, idealism, and character. And I would argue that those 11 million folks who have been here breaking their neck, working hard, they are Americans."

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Joe Biden: It's time to demand action from the House on immigration