WASHINGTON: A CNN midterm poll found registered voters favoured Democratic congressional candidates over Republicans by eight points, 49% to 41%, ahead of the November elections.
The CNN poll, conducted by SSRS, also put U.S. President Donald Trump’s job approval at 33%. CNN said that was the lowest numerical reading for Trump in its polling across either presidential term.
Trump received lower marks on economic issues. Twenty-seven per cent of Americans approved of his handling of the economy, while 20% approved of his handling of inflation.
The economy ranked as the leading issue in the source poll. Sixty-eight per cent of registered voters called it “extremely important” to their congressional vote.
The poll also found that 44% of registered voters viewed their congressional vote as a message of opposition to Trump. Nineteen per cent said their vote would signal support for him.
Read: Trump Election Emergency Idea Raises Legal Concerns Ahead of Midterms
On the economy, respondents gave Democrats a seven-point advantage over Republicans when asked which party was closer to their views, according to CNN’s report.
However, voters remained divided over whether Democratic control of Congress would improve their personal finances or the cost of living.
Read: Obama AI Warning Urges Democrats to Shape Policy Debate
SSRS surveyed 1,206 U.S. adults on Sept. 16-17 using its probability-based national opinion panel. The overall sample had a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 3.5 percentage points.
The findings measure voter opinion at the time of the survey and do not predict individual congressional races or the final election result.
