WASHINGTON – Democratic hopes for winning congressional elections apparently are tied to how well they can keep domestic issues in the forefront because Republicans have a big advantage with voters on national security, an Associated Press poll found.

When people are asked whom they trust most to handle the economy the two parties are very close, the poll indicated. But Democrats ran ahead among those who think domestic issues in general – including the economy, education and health care – are most important.

When it comes to dealing with national security and the war on terrorism, 37 percent favored Republicans to 15 percent who favored Democrats.

Most voters say they want the Capitol and the White House to remain controlled by different parties.

In the competition for control of Congress, 40 percent of registered voters said they would support the Democratic candidate and 40 percent the Republican, according to the poll conducted for the AP by ICR/International Communications Research of Media, Pa. Five percent said neither and the rest didn’t know or declined to answer.

By a 2-to-1 margin, people said they preferred that different parties control the White House and Congress. Democrats felt that way by a 68-28 margin, while Republicans were evenly split.

“Competition is great,” said Edward Allen Jr., 77, a Republican retiree who lives in rural central Georgia. “I think it’s best to have different parties in control of Congress and the White House.”

Democrat Jeannette Sasse, a 76-year-old resident of Plymouth, Wis., agreed.

“I feel that if the president and the Congress are all from the same party, we can get sort of a dictatorship,” she said. “We should have a balance.”

Political analysts are skeptical whether the public’s preference for divided government has much effect on votes in individual congressional races.

Democrats have been counting on their traditional edge on domestic issues to give them an advantage this election, but the Republicans’ even standing on the economy and big advantage on military matters could make that less likely.