Poll Finds Trump More Unpopular Now Than In 2018. Republicans Are Facing a Daunting Election Landscape.

President Donald Trump's unpopularity is at a record level, and Republicans face an increasingly dire midterm election landscape, according to a new poll.

A CNN poll conducted by SSRS had Democrats with an 8-point lead on the generic ballot. Adding to election worries is that, according to the poll, Trump is more unpopular now than he was before the 2018 midterm election.

Trump's approval rating stands at 33 percent, down from 36 percent in 2018. The president is also down significantly on the economy. His approval is now 27 percent, down 22 points from 2018.

One potential silver lining for Republicans is that although Democrats have a lead on the generic ballot, it is smaller than the lead they had in 2018. Back then, the advantage was 12 points.

The Silver Bulletin, a website that analyzes numerous polls and creates a composite score, also has Trump's approval trending downward. It shows Trump's current approval at 38 percent, down about two points since mid-July. Although the Trump's numbers have somewhat stabilized, they are down 4 points since the start of the Iran war in February.

How the numbers will translate in the 2026 midterm elections remains to be seen. But, there are indications that Republicans face an increasingly perilous election landscape.

The Cook Political Report had a poll conducted of 37 House districts that it rates as toss up, Lean Republican, or Lean Democrat. The website reported that on average, Trump won those competitive districts by about 5 points in 2024. The poll found that despite that advantage, Democrats were now outpolling Republicans in those districts 49 percent to 47 percent.

"In other words, a district that Trump carried by five points in 2024 would have a Democratic advantage of two points today — a seven-point swing in Democrats' favor," the website stated.

Although Democrats appear to be tracking toward making substantial gains, the Cook poll found voters to be generally dissatisfied with politics. Most voters, 59 percent, said they would favor a candidate who wanted to make substantial changes to the political system.

"Voters blame Trump for making many of the country's problems worse, and they're more worried about Republicans enabling him than Democrats over-correcting in opposition," said pollster Patrick Toomey of New River Strategies told Cook Political Report. "But their frustration is broader and more systemic, and they're looking for something beyond either enabling Trump or simply opposing him."