President Trump’s approval hits record low ahead of midterm elections

The findings arrive as midterm elections loom, with the Republican Party trailing Democrats in national polling. The Emerson College poll indicates a 10-percentage-point lead for Democrats in a generic congressional ballot, suggesting a potential significant shift in favor of the Democratic Party.

“With about 5% still undecided, most of whom are independent and half disapprove of Trump, Democrats’ congressional ceiling could be higher than the poll reports,” stated Spencer Kimball, executive director of Emerson College Polling.

The poll, conducted between October 24th and 26th, surveyed 1,000 likely voters with a margin of error of 3 percentage points.

Beyond Kansas, where Democrat Adam Hamilton holds a nine-point lead over Republican incumbent Roger Marshall according to a Washington Post poll released Friday, October 30th, Democrat James Talarico is leading Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton by six percentage points in a CNN/SSRS poll. A Talarico victory would be the first statewide win for a Texas Democrat in over two decades, since 1994.

Trump’s struggles are reflected in broader polling averages as well. RealClearPolitics currently shows his approval rating at 38.4% with a disapproval rating of 59.7%. The New York Times average places his approval at 37% and disapproval at 60%, while Nate Silver’s Silver Bulletin average reports 37.3% approval and 59.9% disapproval.