More Voters Want the Next Congress to Check Trump Than to Help Him
The latest Strength In Numbers/Verasight poll, shared with NPR, finds record-low trust in Republicans' ability to handle voters' top issues such as immigration and rising prices. The survey of 2,028 respondents was conducted Oct. 13-19 and has a margin of sampling error of 2.2 percentage points.
Asked what they want from the next Congress, 58 per cent said it was more important to elect one that would act as a check and balance on Trump, against 25 per cent who preferred a Congress that would help him pass his agenda.
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That mood shows up in the head-to-head numbers too: less than two weeks out from Election Day, voters preferred a Democratic Congress over a Republican one 52 per cent to 41 per cent among registered voters, and 54 to 42 among likely voters. Trump's own approval sits at 34 per cent, with 62 per cent disapproving — half of all respondents strongly.
Some of this looks like buyer's remorse: nearly one in 10 people who said they voted in the 2024 presidential race regret their choice, including almost 15 per cent of self-described Trump voters. But 20 per cent say neither party cares about people like them, which is a reminder that wanting a check on Trump is not the same as enthusiasm for the alternative.