The latest Reuters/Ipsos poll shows Republican President Donald Trump’s approval rating holding steady at 40%, but Democrats appear more excited than Republicans to vote in next year’s midterm elections after recent Democratic victories in state and local elections.
The six-day poll, which ended Wednesday, found that 44% of registered voters who identify as Democrats said they were “very excited” to vote in the so-called midterm elections on Nov. 3, 2026, compared with 26% of Republicans. Of those surveyed, 79% of Democrats said they regret not voting, compared to 68% of Republicans. 1,200 adults across the United States were consulted online.
All 435 seats in the U.S. House of Representatives will be up for grabs next year, and 35 seats will be up for grabs in the 100-member Senate. Republicans currently control both chambers, but the margins are slim.
Support for the Democratic Party had been sluggish since Trump won last year’s presidential election, but in the November 4 election, Democrats won the gubernatorial races in Virginia and New Jersey, as well as Zoran Mamdani’s victory in the New York mayoral race, boosting the party’s spirits.
Voters in Democratic-majority California approved a measure that would redraw electoral maps likely to favor the party, and the state’s governor, Gavin Newsom, has pitched the measure as a way to counter Republican-led efforts to redraw electoral districts in other states.
Cost of living is a major concern for voters
Voters’ main concerns appear to be everyday issues, with 45% saying a candidate’s stance on the cost of living is the most important factor in deciding their vote. On this topic, 38% of registered voters said Democrats have a better plan, and 36% said Republicans have a better plan.
When asked which party is better on immigration, voters chose Republicans over Democrats (46% vs. 34%), but only 14% said it was the most important issue in next year’s election. By comparison, 26% said the most important issue was democratic values and norms, and voters overall supported Democrats on this issue 43% to 34%.
President Trump’s approval rating remained at its lowest level since the start of his term in January. Since mid-May, all Reuters and Ipsos polls have shown his popularity within one to two points of current levels. The percentage of people who said they did not approve of his performance increased from 52% in the May 16-18 survey to 58% in the latest survey.
The president won last year’s election on a promise to fight rising inflation that hurt his predecessor, Democrat Joe Biden. However, Americans give Mr. Trump very low ratings for how he is controlling the costs of living on American families, with 62% of Americans disapproving of his cost-of-living controls. The pace of inflation has accelerated since President Trump took office in January, even as the job market has slumped.
The Reuters/Ipsos poll was completed just before Congress voted to end the longest government shutdown in U.S. history. The incident has created a rift within the Democratic Party, with eight Democratic senators joining Republicans on Monday to break the impasse over government funding.
Doubts about the Democratic Party decrease
Compared to earlier this year, the poll showed a slight decline in self-criticism among Democrats. In the latest poll, 39% of respondents said they agreed with the statement that the party had “lost its path”, compared to 49% in the August poll. Among Republicans, 22% say the party has lost its way, up slightly from 19% in August.
Polls show that Democrats view incoming New York City Mayor Zoran Mamdani, a self-proclaimed socialist, as favorably as California Governor Gavin Newsom, at 67% and 65%, respectively.
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