2018 US Politics - Democrats Continue to Lead the Generic Congressional Ballot (August 1)

Reuters/Ipsos Data: Core Political (08/01/2018) from Ipsos Public Affairs

President Trump’s approval rating remains stable this week with 44% of registered voters and 40% of all Americans approving of his job performance. Just one in ten Democrats (12%) approve of Trump’s job performance, while Independents (39%) and Republicans (83%) are more generous in their assessments.

Registered voters continue to report they are more likely to vote for a Democratic candidate (42%) than a Republican candidate (36%) if the election for Congress were held today. Republicans (81%) and Democrats (85%) report they would remain loyal to their current respective parties, but Independents continue to be split between Democrats (20%), Republicans (19%) and a third party (17%). One-third of Independents (35%) report that they do not know which party they would vote for if the election were held today.

Americans remain divided on the most important issue facing the country today, with healthcare (18%) and immigration (15%) remaining the top two most important issues.  Democrats and Republicans continue to disagree on the most important issue, with Democrats reporting it to be healthcare (23%), while Republicans believe it is immigration (26%).  Independents remain split between immigration (16%) and healthcare (17%).

In this week's Reuters/Ipsos Wh'Exit Poll, Americans continue to be uncertain about which member of the administration will be next to resign or be terminated. While Attorney General Jeff Sessions (14%) continues to be seen as the most likely cabinet member to leave the White House, Press Secretary Sarah Sanders (10%) and Chief of Staff, John F. Kelly (9%) are not too far behind the Attorney General. Betsy DeVos, Secretary of Education (8%), and Senior Adviser Jared Kushner (8%) are tied for fourth place. Other members of the cabinet are seen as relatively safe this week.

These are findings from an Ipsos poll conducted for Thomson Reuters July 27-July 31, 2018. For the survey, a sample of 1,901 Americans, including 1,571 registered voters, 684 Democrats, 616 Republicans, and 198 Independents ages 18+ were interviewed online.