Democrats have a higher favorability rating over Republicans than before they won 40 seats in the 2018 midterm elections, according to a new poll.
An NPR-PBS News-Marist poll released Tuesday found that voters are 14% more likely to support Democratic candidates in congressional races than Republican candidates, Democrats’ highest advantage since 2017.
One reason for the uptick in Democrats’ favorability was attributed to voters’ growing concerns over affordability, which was a top matter for nearly 60% of respondents. Another reason for the Democrats’ growing popularity was a widespread dislike of President Donald Trump. His approval rating, 39%, was the lowest of any Marist poll conducted during his second term.
The poll comes weeks after Democratic candidates won in major off-year elections across the country, including key statewide races in Virginia and New Jersey, as well as major cities such as New York and Seattle.
Twenty-six percent of respondents also blamed congressional Republicans for the 43-day government shutdown, citing their total control of the House, Senate, and executive branch, and 34% blamed Trump.
The poll also found that 38% of voters have confidence in the executive branch, while only 20% of voters have confidence in Congress
Confidence in the media fell, with 75% of respondents saying they have “little to no” trust in it. Seventy-one percent of respondents said the same of the Democratic Party. The Republican Party and the Supreme Court polled a few points higher, at 65% and 62%, respectively.
Despite the president’s low approval rating, Republicans are largely supportive of their party. Around 80% of Republicans have “quite a lot” or a “great deal” of confidence in the GOP.
The poll also revealed the partisan divide between voters, with the vast majority of people from both parties describing those in the other political party as “closed-minded.” Moreover, around two-thirds of Democrats and 7 in 10 Republicans saw members of the other party as “dishonest” when talking about politics.
Independents widely disapproved of Trump, with just 24% of independent voters surveyed in the poll saying they supported the president. Independents also found Republicans to be more closed-minded than Democrats by 17%.
The trends reflect other findings from a New York Times analysis from last week, which highlighted growing polarization in the country.
REPUBLICANS MORE LIKELY THAN DEMOCRATS TO HAVE CLOSE FRIENDS IN OTHER PARTY: POLL
The analysis revealed that 82% of Republicans have at least one close friend across the political aisle, compared to 64% of Democratic respondents.
However, the majority of the poll’s respondents said they do not have close cross-party friendships, particularly younger voters.
