With a toss up in the presidential primaries, a lame duck in the White House and what's looking like an exodus in Congress, things haven't been looking great for the Grand Ole Party this year. But things may yet be looking up.

According to a new poll, 34. 2 percent of Americans considered themselves Republicans in December, up nearly 2 percent from a month earlier, according to the latest Rasmussen Reports party trends tracking survey.

Click here to see the survey results.

The result is even more remarkable when compared to just a few months ago, when Republican identity had reached its nadir, according to the poll. In May, only 30.8 percent considered themselves among GOP faithful. Those identifying themselves as Republicans peaked in September 2004 at 37.3 percent. The poll began tracking the question in January 2004.

Those claiming Democratic affiliation, however, still outnumber Republicans in this poll.

Those identifying themselves as Democrats trended down .9 percent from a month earlier to 36.3 percent. Peak Democratic identity was 38.8 percent in December 2004; the lowest percent of those identifying themselves as Democrats is 35.9 percent, which was recorded in July and December 2005, and again in July 2007.

In the most recent poll, 29.5 percent considered themselves something other than the two major parties in December.

The monthly tracking poll by Rasmussen Reports surveys 15,000 adults, and has a margin of error of less than 1 percent.