Democrats are gaining momentum a year after voters handed President Trump and Republicans complete control of Washington.
Polls show Mr. Trump’s image has taken a hit, and support for the GOP is slipping weeks after voters handed Democrats sweeping victories at the ballot box.
An NPR/PBS News/Marist survey released Wednesday found Democrats leading Republicans 55% to 41% in a generic congressional matchup, with independents favoring Democrats 61% to 33%.
It marks the most prominent lead Democrats have had in the poll, which asks voters to choose between an unnamed candidate from both major parties, since 2017. Voters were evenly split, at 48%, a year ago.
A Reuters/Ipsos poll the day before showed Mr. Trump’s approval rating falling from 47% at the start of his term to 38%. His disapproval rating has climbed from 41% to 60%.
These polls follow a string of Democratic victories: gubernatorial wins in Virginia and New Jersey, passage of California’s Prop 50 redistricting measure and gains in down-ballot races, including seats in Virginia’s Legislature and Georgia’s Public Service Commission.
Democrats are framing the results as voter backlash over affordability and a rebuke of Trump-era policies.
At the same time, lawmakers this week managed to push through a House measure — over Trump’s initial objections — for the release of government files tied to Jeffrey Epstein, the convicted sex trafficker who died in prison.
The Reuters/Ipsos poll showed 59% disagreed with the way Mr. Trump has handled the Epstein files, which for weeks he labeled a Democratic hoax before giving ground, compared with 20% who backed the way he has dealt with the issue. The remainder were unsure or did not respond.
Democrats say the results prove that their focus on affordability is resonating — and maybe even show a little buyer’s remorse among voters who put Mr. Trump in office.
They hope it’s a sign of what is to come in the midterm elections, when Republicans will be defending their slim House majority and what Democrats refer to as the GOP’s “America Last” message.
Republicans, meanwhile, are trying to shore up their chances of defending the lower chamber by redrawing congressional maps.
Texas pushed through a new map this summer that could have given Republicans five extra seats, but a federal court blocked it, saying it discriminated against minorities. Texas is appealing the ruling.
Similar GOP efforts in Kansas and Indiana have stalled, leaving Democrats, at least for now, with the upper hand in the redistricting fight that Mr. Trump demanded.
Mr. Trump’s approval numbers aren’t helping.
The Marist poll shows 57% of voters disapprove of the job he’s doing, with nearly half saying they “strongly disapprove.”
His strongest support still comes from rural, white voters without college degrees, men and evangelical Christians.
The top-of-mind issues for voters in the Marist poll align with the message voters sent in the off-year elections.
A whopping 67% say lowering costs is their top priority. Immigration, crime, the war in Ukraine, peace in Gaza and drug trafficking from Latin America trail far behind.
The Marist survey polled 1,291 registered voters nationwide between Nov. 10-13, with a margin of error of 3.1 percentage points.
