Remember this when Democrats gloat about their victory in the 23rd Congressional district of New York, even as they lose control of New Jersey and Virginia.

Gallup has essentially confirmed what Rasmussen Reports has been saying for months: Americans now prefer a generic Republican to a generic Democrat in a Congressional election.

Republicans have moved ahead of Democrats by 48% to 44% among registered voters in the latest update on Gallup’s generic congressional ballot for the 2010 House elections, after trailing by six points in July and two points last month.

The Nov. 5-8 update comes just after Republican victories in the New Jersey and Virginia gubernatorial elections, which saw Republicans replace Democrats as governors of those states.

As was the case in last Tuesday’s gubernatorial elections, independents are helping the Republicans’ cause. In the latest poll, independent registered voters favor the Republican candidate by 52% to 30%. Both parties maintain similar loyalty from their bases, with 91% of Democratic registered voters preferring the Democratic candidate and 93% of Republican voters preferring the Republican.

Independents have gone from splitting evenly between Democrats and Republicans to favoring the latter by a margin of 22% in just a few months. And it happened just as the debate over health care reform took off. Gee, you think independents might just be fleeing the Democratic Party over its attempt to socialize the nation’s health care system?

Republicans need to stick to their core conservative convictions of small government, low taxes, and a strong national defense. That platform remains extremely appealing to voters, especially independents, and they’ll chose it over the socialist platform of the Democratic Party when given a real choice.