Democrats lead Republicans in House vote choice as Trump's approval rating hits record low: ABC/Post/Ipsos poll
asserted
rating → lead → poll
Half or more Americans call every household purchase measured "unaffordable."
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Americans → call → purchase
Just over two-weeks out from consequential midterm elections, a record share of Americans disapprove of President Donald Trump, about 7 in 10 say gasoline is unaffordable and that the country is headed in the wrong direction, according to an ABC News/Washington Post/Ipsos poll conducted using Ipsos’ KnowledgePanel.
Midterms
By an 8-percentage point margin, likely voters support the Democratic candidate in congressional district elections over the Republican candidate, 52% to 44%.
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voters → disapprove → candidate
That margin remains 8 points among registered voters overall, 50% to 42%, an improvement from a July Washington Post-Ipsos poll for Democrats, when just 3 points separated the Democrats from the Republicans.
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points → remain → Republicans
Although control of the House will ultimately be determined in votes for individual candidates in individual congressional districts across the county, the generic House question is a useful barometer.
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question → determine → county
For example, before the last midterms, a fall 2022 ABC News/Washington Post/Ipsos poll found registered voters nearly split and Republicans went on to win Congress.
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Republicans → find → Congress
In a fall 2018 poll, Democrats had an 11-point lead over Republicans among registered voters and Democrats went on to win the House that year.
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Democrats → have → House
Overwhelming shares of partisans support their party’s candidates – 98% of Democratic likely voters and 96% of Republican likely voters each support their party candidates.
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% → support → candidates
Democrats are bolstering their lead among independent likely voters, who support Democratic candidates by a 21-point margin, 56% to 35%.
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who → bolster → margin
Democrats are also benefiting from the fact that there’s more enthusiasm from their supporters.
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Democrats → benefit → supporters
More Democratic voters (72%) than Republican voters (65%) say they are absolutely certain to vote and more Democratic voters are following the midterms “extremely” or “very” closely than Republican voters – 44% to 31%.
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voters → say → voters
About 9 in 10 of the roughly half of likely voters who strongly disapprove of Trump plan to vote for the Democratic candidate in their congressional district
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who → disapprove → district
And over 9 in 10 of the likely voters who approve of Trump plan to vote for Republicans.
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who → approve → Republicans
But the roughly 1 in 10 voters who somewhat disapprove of Trump support the Republican candidate over the Democratic one by a double-digit margin, 58% to 34%.
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who → disapprove → margin
Half or more Americans call every household purchase category measured “unaffordable” in the latest poll, including 71% who now call gasoline unaffordable, up from 28% who said the same in February, before the war in Iran drove up fuel costs.
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war → call → costs
The national average gas price has topped $4 a gallon for a record 158 days in 2026 so far.
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price → top → 2026
An increasing share of Americans also call healthcare unaffordable (65%, up from 56% in February) along with home energy and utility costs (57%, up from 45%) and rent or mortgage (50%, up from 37%).
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share → increase → %
And 60% call groceries unaffordable, also up from February (45%) but less than July (66%).
Growing shares of Americans call relative luxuries unaffordable, too.
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shares → call → luxuries
A 61% majority of Americans call going out to dinner unaffordable, up from 49% in February.
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majority → call → February
Even more, 69%, say a weeklong vacation is unaffordable, up from 60%.
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vacation → say → %
And 80% call a new car unaffordable, up from 74% in February.
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% → call → February
In all, 75% of Americans rate the nation’s economy negatively, including 35% who call it poor.
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who → rate → it
Roughly half, 48%, say they are “not as well off” as they were when Trump became president, a high over both of his presidential terms.
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Trump → say → terms
Likely voters who rate the economy poorly support Democrats over Republicans in the generic ballot by 72 points.
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who → rate → points
Likely voters who say they are not as well off support Democrats over Republicans by 60 points.
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they → say → points
Beyond just the economy, Americans are unhappy with the direction the country is moving in: 72% say things in the country are headed in the wrong direction; just 26% say things are heading in the right direction.
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things → move → direction
Trump’s weak approval ratings do not bode well for his party given that midterms are often a referendum vote on the president.
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midterms → bode → president
And Trump’s approval rating has reached a record personal low of 33% percent in the ABC News/Washington Post/Ipsos poll, lower even than after the Jan. 6, 2021, attacks on the U.S. Capitol when 38% approved.
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% → reach → Capitol
Today, 66% of Americans disapprove, a record high over both terms.
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% → disapprove → terms
Just over half of Americans, 52%, strongly disapprove of Trump, matching his strong disapproval rating after the Jan. 6 attack, and a record high for his second term, according to the poll.
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half → disapprove → poll
Over both of his terms, a record-low 22% of independents approve of Trump and a record-high 76% disapprove, including 58% who strongly disapprove – another record high over both of Trump’s terms.
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who → approve → terms
Among Republicans, 79% approve, down just slightly from a July Post-Ipsos poll but down significantly from 88% near the beginning of his second term.
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% → approve → term
And a record-low 39% strongly approve of Trump, down from 63% in February 2025.
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% → approve → February
Today, 21% of Republicans disapprove, up from 12% in February 2025.
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% → disapprove → February
That includes nearly half of non-MAGA Republicans (47%) who disapprove today.
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who → include → Republicans
A majority of MAGA Republicans strongly approve of the president, 55%, but that’s down from 65% in February.
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that → approve → February
About 6 in 10 Republicans consider themselves supporters of the MAGA movement, both now and in February.
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themselves → consider → February
Among registered voters overall, Trump’s overall approval rating is slightly better: 37% approve and 63% disapprove.
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% → register → voters
Majorities of Americans also disapprove of how Trump is handling every issue measured, and for many issues, Trump is at or near record-low approvals.
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Trump → disapprove → approvals
His worst issue is handling the cost of living in the U.S. -- perhaps the defining issue for the 2026 midterms -- and his ratings are similarly low to what they were in the ABC/Post/Ipsos poll in April.
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they → handle → April
…and 46 more, not listed.
The Aporia
