It's Almost 2014...

... which means we'll shortly be buried under an avalanche of stories about the midterm elections in November. Here's a few early ones.

GOP has edge in early midterm indicator

Democrats have lost their advantage and Republicans now have a slight edge in the battle for control of Congress, according to a new national poll.

A CNN/ORC International survey released Thursday also indicates that President Barack Obama may be dragging down Democratic congressional candidates, and that the 2014 midterm elections are shaping up to be a low-turnout event, with only three in 10 registered voters extremely or very enthusiastic about voting next year.

Two months ago, Democrats held a 50%-42% advantage among registered voters in a generic ballot, which asked respondents to choose between a Democrat or Republican in their congressional district without identifying the candidates. That result came after congressional Republicans appeared to overplay their hand in the bitter fight over the federal government shutdown and the debt ceiling.

But the Democratic lead evaporated, and a CNN poll a month ago indicated the GOP holding a 49%-47% lead. The new survey, conducted in mid-December, indicates Republicans with a 49%-44% edge over the Democrats.

The 13-point swing over the past two months follows a political uproar over Obamacare, which included the botched rollout of HealthCare.gov and controversy over the possibility of insurance policy cancellations due primarily to the new health law.

Of course, there's a long way to go until November. The republicans have plenty of time to screw things up. But just in case, we can expect even more obamacare tweaks (twerks...?) from the administration, along with a surge of positive stories from the media touting the benefits of obamacare.

In other political news, two recent polls show Chris Christie either tied with or slightly leading hillary in the 2016 presidential race.

Christie Leads Hillary for President by 3 Points

Republican New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie leads former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in a hypothetical presidential matchup, beating her by 3 points, 45 percent to 42 percent, a Public Policy Polling survey released Wednesday showed.

Clinton deadlocked with Christie

In a potential preview of the next presidential election, a new national poll suggests Hillary Clinton and Chris Christie would be neck and neck if the 2016 contest were held today.

Regardless of how you feel about Chrisite - and I'm not a fan - he seems to represent a legitimate threat to the democrats' chances of holding on to the White House once obama is evicted. So brace yourself for an onslaught of negative stories about Christie.

Like this hatchet job from the NYT.

Christie Has History of Bullying, Petty Attacks

New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie often takes petty revenge against people who he believes have slighted him...

Is the timing of the NYT story, coming shortly after the release of the Christie-Clinton polls, a coincidence?

I think not...