A new poll conducted for CBS News and the New York Times shows that as Democrats rack up huge fundraising advantages, the public favors the party in congressional elections by margins as wide as before the landslide 2006 elections. The survey showed 50% of respondents favoring a generic Democratic candidate, while 32% said they preferred the Republican candidate.

That eighteen-point gap is the same as the last CBS/NYT poll taken before the 2006 elections, conducted in late October of that year. Democrats now lead the RCP Generic Ballot Average by 13 points, two points higher than the final pre-election average.

Republicans acknowledge the challenge that lies ahead of them, but the party is still staying optimistic. House GOP leader John Boehner laid out his read on the November contests for colleagues at a Republican caucus meeting Wednesday, in a presentation colleagues called hopeful, but realistic.