President Trump’s approval rating is underwater and a majority of voters believe the country is on the wrong track, according to a new poll released Friday.
A new Emerson College Polling survey found 45 percent of respondents approved of the job Trump was doing as president, while 46 percent disapproved. Close to 9 percent said they were neutral on the issue or had no opinion.
Trump’s approval rating has ticked down since he took office. An Emerson College Polling survey showed he had a 49 percent approval rating in January and a 41 percent disapproval rating. By April, his approval and disapproval ratings were tied at 45 percent.
This latest Emerson College Polling survey also found close to 53 percent believed the country was on the wrong track, compared to close to 48 percent of respondents who said the U.S. was headed in the right direction.
While the midterms are more than a year away and Trump and Republicans still have time to shore up their support with voters, the recent polling shows the party has work to do on winning back some of its supporters — particularly in a midterm environment when the president’s party typically faces backlash during the midterms.
The Emerson College Polling survey showed Democrats with a slight advantage over Republicans on a generic congressional ballot, with Democrats receiving close to 43 percent while Republicans received 40 percent. A separate 18 percent said they were undecided.
“Looking ahead to next year’s Midterm Election, the Democrats have a slight edge over the Republicans, with independents breaking for the Democratic candidate 37% to 27%,” Spencer Kimball, executive director of Emerson College Polling, noted in a press release. “However, a significant 36% of independents are undecided, so this number is expected to shift.”
Still, Republicans are largely expected to keep their majority in the Senate next year while Democrats see their best chance to flip legislative control in the House.
The Emerson College Polling survey was conducted between June 24 and June 25 with 1,000 registered voters surveyed. The margin of error is plus or minus 3 percentage points.
