President Trump is heading into the 2026 midterms with a bruising number: 64% of voters disapprove of how he is handling his job, while only 36% approve. The same -NORC poll finds 47% favor Democratic control of the U.S. House of Representatives and 46% prefer Democrats in charge of the Senate.
That is the clearest read yet on the Trump Midterm Election Outlook because the public mood is not just sour on one politician. It is sour on the whole system. Eight in 10 voters want substantial change or complete upheaval in how the country is run, and two-thirds say they feel pessimistic about politics in the country. Half are pessimistic about the future of the Democratic Party, the Republican Party and democracy itself.
The poll helps explain why the economy sits at the center of the campaign map. Ahead of the 2026 midterms, 85% of voters say the economy is one of the most important issues, and 84% say the cost of living is. Health care ranks as a top issue for 69% of voters, while 64% cite the war with Iran. Far fewer name immigration and crime, at 45%, artificial intelligence at 35% and transgender issues at 12%.
Trump’s standing is weaker on the issues most voters care about, but not uniformly. He gets 45% approval on crime, even as 64% disapprove of his overall performance. On the economy, 74% disapprove of how he is handling it, and 79% disapprove of his handling of the cost of living. About two-thirds also disapprove of how he is dealing with foreign policy. His favorable rating is 35%, the same as Vice President JD Vance. The Republican Party stands at 36% favorable, compared with 40% for the Democratic Party.
The gap between Trump’s crime number and his broader job approval points to the partisanship underneath the poll. He still has a foothold on one issue, but the public verdict on his presidency is far harsher. -NORC interviewed 1,119 adults using the AmeriSpeak® Panel from October 8-12, 2026, with an overall margin of sampling error of plus or minus 3.9 percentage points. That is the snapshot voters are taking into the final stretch before the midterms: strong disapproval of Trump, a demand for change, and a legislative map that currently gives Democrats the edge.
