Veteran congressional campaign strategists in both major political parties are sounding cautionary notes about the latest Gallup Survey showing dramatic increases in Republican identification levels among voters heading into the 2022 midterm election. “On average, Americans’ political party preferences in 2021 looked similar to prior years, with slightly more U.S. adults identifying as Democrats or leaning Democratic (46 percent) than identified as Republicans or leaned Republican (43 percent),” Gallup’s Jeffrey Jones said in a January 17 statement announcing the new data. Democrats enjoyed a nine-point advantage in January 2021, but the year ended with the GOP in a five-point lead, Jones said. The 14-point swing in favor of Republicans sparked comparisons among media pundits with 1994, when Republicans tapped into widespread voter dissatisfaction with then-President Bill Clinton and won majorities in the Senate and House of Representatives for the first time in 40 years. Axios’ Mike Allen, for example, noted …