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by WILL FOLKS
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U.S. president Donald Trump‘s fateful decision to turn his back on the ‘America First’ agenda that got him elected is continuing to tank his polling numbers.
It’s also serving as an anchor for his party ahead of this fall’s midterm elections…
According to the latest aggregate survey data from RealClearPolling, Trump is viewed favorably by just 39.5% of the American electorate – while 58.9% view him unfavorably. That’s a disapproval gap of -19.4%, just shy of the record gap of -19.6% recorded early last month.
Trump’s numbers continue to trend in the wrong direction for the GOP the closer we get to the 2026 midterms – a cycle in which every seat in the U.S. House of Representatives and thirty-three (33) seats in the U.S. Senate are up for grabs.
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Republicans currently occupy 218 House seats while Democrats hold 214. One seat is currently held by an independent and two seats are vacant. In the Senate, the GOP holds 53 seats compared to 45 for Democrats. Two independent senators – including socialist Bernie Sanders – caucus with the Democrats.
Democrats are widely expected to take control of both the House and Senate this fall, with 50.3% of voters indicating a generic preference for their party’s congressional candidates over the GOP candidates (42%), per RealClearPolling.
Many strategists are projecting a Democrat wave election, although it remains to be seen whether the party will fare as well as it did in the 2006 midterms (when it gained 31 seats in the House and six in the Senate) or Trump’s last mid-term in 2018 (when Democrats picked up 41 seats in the House but lost two in the Senate).
Pollster Nate Silver recently cited America’s “long history of strong opposition performance in midterm elections, especially when the incumbent president is as unpopular as Trump” as evidence that Democrats are poised to achieve “huge gains” come November.
Silver also pointed to soaring fuel costs as an ongoing albatross for Trump and the ruling majority party.
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RELATED | SURGE IN GAS PRICES CONTINUES
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“It’s not hard to understand why Democrats have made further gains in polls lately,” Silver wrote. “Gas prices have spiked to almost $4.50 per gallon, up 37 cents from a month ago and $1.29 from a year ago. Diesel prices have risen even more and affect more consumers than you might think.”
“Meanwhile, President Trump’s disapproval rating is now 58.9 percent, the highest of his term so far,” Silver added.
In South Carolina, Democrat Annie Andrews is challenging Trump-endorsed interim senator Darline Graham Nordone – sister of the late U.S. senator Lindsey Graham – for a full, six-year term in Washington, D.C. Democrats are also focusing attention on the first congressional district seat being vacated by congresswoman Nancy Mace – believing it represents their best opportunity to flip one of the state’s six GOP districts this fall.
Democrats haven’t won a U.S. Senate race in South Carolina since 1998. They have also failed in their last three attempts to win back the first district – including Mace’s defeat of Andrews in 2022.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR…
Will Folks is the founding editor of the news outlet you are currently reading. Prior to founding FITSNews, he served as press secretary to the governor of South Carolina. He lives in the Midlands region of the state with his wife and eight children.
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