Every month, the Gallup organization provides crosstabs for the monthly totals on its tracking polls.  It is a useful tool, because the sample sizes are large enough to provide decent crosstabs, and therefore it can really give a good view as to the state of political coalitions.

What is interesting is that although the Democrats brought the registered voter generic ballot to a tie in September, there were undercurrents that they should find very unnerving.

For example, consider the chart of the generic vote by age group:

Although the Democrats rebounded somewhat, there rebound was by-and-large felt in the 18-29 year old demographic, although there was some significant movement in their direction in the 50-64 group as well.  Why is this a problem?  Because the 18-29 year old demographic is by far the least likely to vote.  Democrats need movement in the older demographics, and while they received it in the 50-64 group, they need to start producing it in the 65+ group, which will, if history is any guide, be flocking to the polls.

Let's look by region, as well:

The problem here is that, once again, the movement toward Democrats is in an area where they are the strongest.  Assuming that Gallup uses the census definition of "East," Republicans are seriously challenging Democrats in about 18 seats in the East, which are concentrated in Pennsylvania.  This compares with 14 in the West, 22 in the Midwest, and 27 in the South.  If the movement in the East was concentrated in Pennsylvania, then it is good news for Democrats, but otherwise, they really might just be making the blue areas of the country bluer.

Finally, let's look at monthly averages by Race/Ethnicity:

We see that Democrats are maintaining a 81-point edge with African-Americans, which is actually an improvement from the last ballot test.  The 88-7 edge they find is consistent with historical norms.  Among whites, the gap has shrunk to a 14-point gap, 53 percent to 39 percent.

But look at what is happening among Hispanics.  The Democrats' edge there among registered voters is down to 13 points, 51 percent to 38 percent.  To put this in perspective, in 2004 -- a banner year for the GOP among Hispanic voters, the national exit poll indicated that the GOP lost Hispanics 55-44.  This could be a catastrophic result for Democrats, who were counting on 2004 as being an outlier, and their 2008 victory margin of 68-29 percent becoming the norm.  We'll have to see what happens in future polls, but this could be a very significant development.