Daijiworld Media Network - Washington
Washington, Nov 1: US President Donald Trump is facing mounting public dissatisfaction ahead of the November 3 midterm elections, with his net approval rating remaining positive in only eight of the country's 50 states, according to the latest Civiqs state-by-state tracker.
The tracker shows Trump recording negative net approval ratings in 42 states, including six states witnessing closely contested Senate races: Alaska (-25%), Michigan (-26%), Maine (-29%), North Carolina (-18%), Ohio (-18%) and Texas (-20%).
His approval ratings have also slipped into negative territory in traditionally Republican states such as Kentucky (-13%) and South Carolina (-10%), indicating growing dissatisfaction even in areas that have historically supported the Republican Party.
The eight states where Trump continues to enjoy positive net approval are Alabama, Arkansas, Idaho, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Utah, West Virginia and Wyoming. All eight backed him in the previous three presidential elections.
Wyoming remains his strongest state, with a positive net approval rating of 14%. Kansas, meanwhile, has an even rating, with 46% of respondents approving of his performance and an equal 46% disapproving.
The latest state-level figures come amid a fresh setback for Trump in national polling. An Emerson College survey released on Friday, October 30, put his approval rating at 37%, the lowest recorded in the polling organisation's surveys. The figure marked a two-percentage-point decline from his previous low of 39%, recorded in its May, June, July and September surveys.
The same survey found Democrats leading Republicans by 10 percentage points in the generic congressional ballot, with 52% support against 42% for the Republican Party.
Spencer Kimball, executive director of Emerson College Polling, said around five per cent of respondents remained undecided, most of them independents, and approximately half of those undecided voters disapproved of Trump's performance.
He suggested that the Democratic Party's potential support in the congressional elections could be higher than the poll's current figures indicate.
The findings point to a challenging electoral environment for Republicans as voters prepare to elect members of Congress. The midterm elections will determine the balance of power in the US House of Representatives and Senate and are being closely watched as a measure of public sentiment towards Trump's second administration.