Reuters/Ipsos Core Political Survey: Party Strength Matchups (06/12/2019)

Washington, D.C. - In this week’s edition of the Reuters/Ipsos Core Political, just one-third of Americans (31%) and registered voters (32%) report that the country is headed in the right direction. This perception has remained stable over the last several months. Democratic registered voters remain the most pessimistic concerning the direction of the nation – just 10 percent report that America is headed in the right direction. Republican registered voters are the most likely to say that America is on the right path (68%). Just a quarter of Independent registered voters (24%) feel the same way.  

President Trump’s job approval numbers remain steady. Forty-percent of Americans approve of the job he is doing, and a similar number of registered voters also approve (41%). Partisan identity continues to be the strongest driver of Trump’s approval numbers. Most Republican registered voters approve of how President Trump is handling the presidency (86%). Conversely, very few Democratic registered voters (9%) and just one-third of Independent registered voters (32%) approve.

Healthcare remains the most important issue for one-fifth of Americans (22%), followed by immigration (17%) and the economy (12%). Registered voters’ perceptions mirror that of the rest of the population – 21 percent report that healthcare is the biggest issue, followed closely by immigration (18%), and then the economy (12%). Republican registered voters are more likely to be concerned with immigration (36%) than other major issues. Healthcare is the next biggest concern for Republican registered voters (16%), followed by the economy and morality (12% for each). A quarter of Democratic registered voters report that healthcare (26%) is the biggest problem facing the nation, followed by the economy (13%) and the environment (12%). Healthcare (20%), the economy (13%), morality (13%), and immigration (9%) are the major concerns for Independent registered voters.

When asked which political party has the best plan for tackling several issues, Americans have varied perceptions on which party is better at handling them. Americans are more likely to say that the Democratic Party has a better plan or policy than the Republican Party on women's rights (44% compared to 19% for Republicans), healthcare (42% compared to 25% for Republicans), the environment (43% compared to 20% for Republicans), and energy policy (37% compared to 28% for Republicans). The Republican Party is perceived as having stronger policies on Israel (32% compared to 23% for Democrats), Iran (30% compared to 23% for Democrats), jobs and employment (37% compared to 33% for Democrats), and the economy (35% compared to 31% for Democrats). Americans are split on which party has a better plan for immigration (35% for both parties), foreign policy (32% for both parties), the federal deficit (27% for Democrats and 28% for Republicans), and taxes (31% for Democrats and 33% for Republicans).

About this Study

These are findings from an Ipsos poll conducted for Thomson Reuters between June 10-11, 2019. For the survey, a sample of 1,119 Americans, including 983 registered voters, 412 Democrat registered voters, 331 Republican registered voters, and 192 Independent registered voters ages 18+ were interviewed online. The precision of the Reuters/Ipsos online polls is measured using a credibility interval. In this case, the poll has a credibility interval of plus or minus 3.3 percentage points for all adults, 3.6 percentage points for registered voters, 5.5 percentage points for Democratic registered voters, 6.1 percentage points for Republican registered voters, and 8.1 percentage points for Independent registered voters. For more information about credibility intervals, please see the appendix.

The data were weighted to the U.S. current population data by gender, age, education, and ethnicity. Statistical margins of error are not applicable to online polls. All sample surveys and polls may be subject to other sources of error, including, but not limited to coverage error and measurement error. Figures marked by an asterisk (*) indicate a percentage value of greater than zero but less than one half of one per cent. Where figures do not sum to 100, this is due to the effects of rounding. To see more information on this and other Reuters/Ipsos polls, please visit http://polling.reuters.com/.

For more information on this news release please contact:

Clifford Young
President, U.S.
Ipsos Public Affairs
202.420.2016
[email protected]

Chris Jackson
Vice President, U.S.
Ipsos Public Affairs
202.420.2011
[email protected]

About Ipsos

Ipsos is a global independent market research company. Our team of 18,000 across 90 countries serves 5,000 clients and undertakes 70,000 different projects each year. Our polling practice is a non-partisan, objective, survey-based research practice made up of seasoned professionals. We conduct strategic research initiatives for a diverse number of American and international organizations, based not only on public opinion research, but elite stakeholder, corporate, and media opinion research.

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