2018 US Politics - 54% of Americans report that the country is off on the wrong track (October 17)

With the November midterm election rapidly approaching, Democrats continue to hold a lead of 11-points over Republicans among likely voters in the Reuters/Ipsos generic congressional ballot. Specifically, 51% of likely voters say they would vote for the Democratic candidate while 40% say they would vote for the Republican candidate. This week, Trump’s approval rating among all Americans is 43%, which is 4-points higher than last week’s rating of 39%. Among a list of issues, Americans think the issues that Trump is handling best are employment and jobs (53%), the US economy (51%), and dealing with ISIS/ISIL (47%). 

When it comes to whether or not they approve of the way their Congressperson is handling their job as Representatives, over half of likely voters say they approve (53%). Republican likely voters (68%) are more likely than Democrat likely voters (46%) to share the sentiment. However, when it comes to Congress as a whole, only a fourth of likely voters say they approve (25%). Republican likely voters (43%) are again more likely than Democrat likely voters (13%) to say they approve.

Looking at the big picture, Americans are much more likely to report that the country is off on the wrong track (54%) than heading in the right direction (33%). The majorities of both likely voters (55%) and Democrat likely voters (86%) agree with this sentiment, while the majority of Republican likely voters say that the country is heading in the right direction (76%).

These are findings from an Ipsos poll conducted for Thomson Reuters between October 10-16, 2018. For the survey, a sample of 2,237 Americans, including 1,194 likely voters, 537 likely voter Democrats, 476 likely voter Republicans, and 131 likely voter Independents ages 18+ were interviewed online.