Midterms 2026 · Report · File No. 261101-859
Trump's net approval about 21.7 to 27 points underwater in four trackers before Tuesday
Four national polling averages put President Donald Trump's disapproval near 60 percent in the final days before the midterms, and a state tracker shows him negative in all six swing Senate states. That is the backdrop Republicans carry into Tuesday's vote for control of Congress.
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President Donald Trump enters the final weekend before Tuesday's midterm election with net approval ratings between about 21.7 and 27 points underwater across four national polling trackers, according to a Newsweek analysis published Sunday 1. Disapproval stood at about 60 percent on every measure as of October 29 1.
Net approval is the share who approve minus the share who disapprove. On October 29, approval ranged from 33 percent to 38.4 percent across the four trackers 1. Each was between 11 and 11.8 points worse than at the start of 2026 1.
The four trackers are Civiqs, Silver Bulletin, The New York Times and RealClearPolling. They draw on different surveys and methods, so Newsweek compared them for direction rather than combining them into a new average 1. Civiqs, which surveys registered voters continuously, showed 33 percent approval and 60 percent disapproval on October 29, a net of minus 27 1.
The state picture is similar. The Civiqs state-by-state tracker shows Trump with negative net approval in 42 states, including all six states with close Senate races: Alaska at minus 25 percent, Michigan at minus 26, Maine at minus 29, North Carolina at minus 18, Ohio at minus 18 and Texas at minus 20, USA TODAY reported Saturday 2. He remains positive in Alabama, Arkansas, Idaho, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Utah, West Virginia and Wyoming, and Kansas is even at 46 percent approving and 46 percent disapproving 2.
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An Emerson College poll released Friday put Trump's approval at 37 percent, the lowest in that pollster's surveys and two points below his previous low of 39 percent 2. The same poll found Democrats leading Republicans by 10 percentage points on the generic congressional ballot 2.
Costas Panagopoulos, a political science professor at Northeastern University, told Newsweek that national forces are weighing more heavily on congressional races and that control of Washington gives dissatisfied voters a clear target 1.
If voters are unhappy, they know where to lay the blame
The White House pushed back. Spokesperson Davis Ingle told Newsweek that Trump remains the Republican Party's "unequivocal leader" and "unmatched motivator," and argued that his connection with the MAGA movement and his record in office would help the party defend its congressional majorities 1.
That matters because a president's approval rating sets the national environment but does not decide how many seats change hands 1. Panagopoulos said Republican candidates with strong personal brands or weaker Democratic opponents may run ahead of Trump in their states or districts 1. A national wave, he said, would show up as "a significant number of competitive races moving in a similar direction across a diversity of states and districts" 1.
The pattern is a president whose standing has slipped since January while Republicans defend the House and Senate. The results after November 3 will show how closely the congressional map followed the national mood 1.
The Record
- Civiqs had Trump at 40 percent approval and 56 percent disapproval, a net of minus 16 1.
- All four trackers placed Trump's net approval more than 20 points underwater 1.
- Approval ranged from 33 percent to 38.4 percent and disapproval was about 60 percent across the four trackers 1.
- An Emerson College poll put Trump's approval at 37 percent and Democrats ahead by 10 points on the generic ballot 2.
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Sources
- Newsweek, “How Trump’s Approval Rating Has Changed in Final Weeks Before Midterms” (2026-11-01). newsweek.com/trump-approval-rating-final-weeks-before-midter
- usatoday.com, “Trump state-by-state approval shifts days before midterms” (2026-10-31). usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2026/10/31/trump-state-by-s
Found an error? Tell the newsroom. Corrections are noted at the top of the story.
More from the files
Emerson poll: Democrats lead GOP 52% to 42% for Congress four days before midterms
A new national poll finds Democrats 10 points ahead on the generic congressional ballot, with President Trump's approval at 37%. Polls can miss, but the result fits a pattern that has held for 15 months.
Trump is underwater in 39 states and every battleground a week before the midterms
A Civiqs tracker finds 34% of registered voters approve of Trump and 60% disapprove. That is the backdrop for Republicans in the Senate races as control of Congress is at stake on November 3.
NPR poll: Democrats lead House vote 52% to 41% as Trump approval sits at 34%
A Strength In Numbers/Verasight poll shared with NPR finds voters want Congress to check President Trump and trust Democrats more on their top issues. The survey comes less than two weeks before the November 3 election.
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