Democrats have gained a noticeable advantage over Republicans as many Americans are losing faith with President Donald Trump, with less than 50 days before the midterm elections, a new poll indicates.
Democrats led Republicans 51% to 43% among likely voters on a generic ballot question asking voters which party they will support for Congress in their district, according to a New York Times-Siena University poll released on Sept. 15. The metric is closely watched by both parties and is seen as a leading indicator of political momentum. The poll featured responses from slightly more than 1,500 voters from Sept. 8-13.
The poll also pegged the president's ongoing unpopularity at 38%, which is similar to other polls showing his lowest approval numbers
ever, and indicated that frustration over the rising cost of living, including groceries and soaring gas prices, have exposed Republican weaknesses as Democrats are trying to win both the House and Senate.
A majority of voters polled also disapproved of Trump's handling of every major issue included in the poll, including tariffs and the war with Iran. Voters trust Democrats over Republicans on health care (60%-36%), immigration (52%-45%), and the cost of living (51%-43%), the poll noted.
The poll comes less than a week after a first-ever Republican midterm convention in Dallas as the party is trying to gain momentum heading into the midterm election on Nov. 3.
Cost of living, economy are biggest issues, poll finds
The Times/Siena poll said 71% of voters disapprove of how Trump is handling the cost of living, while 28% approve, a net disapproval of 43 percentage points, 13 points worse than it was in a similar poll in January.
The economy also appears to be affecting the Republican Party, particularly among lower-wage earners, the poll said.
Those earning less than $50,000 annually were more than twice as likely to say they would vote for a Democratic congressional candidate this fall rather than a Republican, 63% to 31%, the poll said. Also, more than half of voters polled said they worry more about Republicans in Congress allowing Trump to go too far, while 39% said that they worry about Democrats trying to move the country too far to the left, the poll said.
The share of likely voters surveyed who see Democrats as too far left rose to 50%, according to the poll, up from 47% earlier this year. However, those voters polled said they were more likely to describe the Republican Party as "extreme" than the Democratic Party.
However, 51% of voters polled had an unfavorable view of socialism, a reason that the president, Vice President JD Vance and other key speakers at the GOP midterm convention in Dallas repeatedly used the term to describe Democrats in their remarks.
The poll said Republicans face a lack of enthusiasm, a strong indicator of why the GOP held its convention last week. About 61% of Democrats said they were almost certain to vote, compared to 56% of Republicans, the poll indicated.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Democrats have advantage over GOP, new poll indicates ahead of midterms
