2018 US Politics - 45% of Americans are Much More Likely to Approve of Their Individual Congressional Representative (January 17)
Listen to The Point Being, a podcast from the Ipsos Polling Team, where Phil Elwood, Chris Jackson, and Julia Clark discuss this week’s numbers.
With a Government shutdown looming and a fresh round of controversial comments, President Trump’s approval rating has dipped 2 points this week to 39% among all Americans.Republicans remain positive about President Trump’s job performance with 75% approving, however, this is a 6-point decline from last week (81%). Democrats (11%) and Independents (32%) continue to be more critical of President Trump’s performance.
In the same vein, fewer than a quarter of Americans approve of Congress as whole (23%). However, Americans are much more likely to approve of their individual congressional representative (45%). Looking ahead to the 2018 mid-term elections in November, 37% of Americans report they would vote for a Democrat candidate for Congress if the election were held today, compared to 32% who would vote for a Republican. Independents lean slightly toward voting for a Democrat (18%) compared to a Republican (13%) or a candidate from another party (13%).
Fewer than one-third of Americans (30%) believe that America is headed in the right direction. This evaluation is divided along partisan lines, with Republicans (60%) much more likely to perceive that America is on a positive trajectory than Democrats (8%) or Independents (28%).
Americans’ perceptions of the nation’s biggest problems remain relatively unchanged from last week, with healthcare (17%), the economy generally (12%), and terrorism (11%) as top of mind issues.
