RESOLVING THE LEDGER
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0 Share Newsweek is a Trust Project member See more of our trusted coverage when you search. Prefer Newsweek on Google to see more of our trusted coverage when you search. With less than three months to go before November's midterm elections, President Donald Trump's approval rating remains underwater in most states, bar a handful of reliably Republican strongholds that continue to give him positive marks on his job performance.
Nationally, 35 percent of voters approve of Trump's job performance while 59 percent disapprove as of August 19, leaving him significantly underwater with a net approval rating of -24, according to Civiqs' rolling online tracking poll of registered voters. The survey has garnered 124,759 responses since January 20, 2025, when Trump was inaugurated for a second term.
A state-by-state breakdown shows Trump deeply underwater in all seven of the battleground states that he carried in the 2024 presidential election. With control of Congress at stake in November, even small shifts in support could have significant consequences for crucial races in the midterms.
In some states where Trump has enjoyed positive marks for much of his second term, including Indiana and Mississippi, he is now in negative territory.
The White House has repeatedly dismissed the president's low approval ratings, pointing to his 2024 election victory as the clearest measure of public support.
Use the map below to explore where Trump's net approval rating stands in each state.
A president's party typically loses seats during midterm elections. With this precedent and amid Trump's unpopularity in much of the country, Republicans are fighting to preserve their slim majorities in the House and Senate. Democrats, meanwhile, are hoping to pick up enough seats to win control go Congress, which would allow them to thwart the president's agenda for the remainder of his second term.
According to the Civiqs poll , Trump has the highest net approval rating in Wyoming, where 56 percent of voters approve of his performance and 35 disapprove—giving him a net approval rating of +22 when rounding up.
His net approval rating is also positive in several other states that make up the Republican heartland:
In Indiana, Trump's net approval rating slipped underwater in Civiqs' polling in late June, after being positive throughout his second term. It now stands at -3.
Similarly, in Mississippi, his net approval, which had been positive during much of his second administration, has been in negative territory since May.
Even in the states where Trump's net approval rating is highest, the latest figures mark a clear decline from the start of his second term. He began his second presidency with +46 net approval in Wyoming, +30 in North Dakota, +27 in South Dakota and +24 in Alabama.
The president's weakest numbers were concentrated in Democratic strongholds.
His net approval rating is lowest in Hawaii, where 18 percent approve of his job performance, while 78 percent disapprove, giving him a net approval rating of -60.
Other states where his net approval rating is particularly low include these:
Trump is still underwater in all seven of the swing states he carried in the 2024 presidential election, and any continued decline in those states could hurt Republicans in crucial midterm races .
Even in Florida, a former swing state that has been reliably Republican in recent years, Trump's net approval rating is underwater at -11, with 42 percent approval and 53 percent disapproval.
Trump's approval ratings could drag down Republican candidates across the country in the midterm elections, Costas Panagopoulos, a professor of political science at Northeastern University, told Newsweek .
Presidential approval ratings are a "reliable predictor of midterm outcomes," he said.
Panagopoulos continued: "Net disapproval in most states across the country will likely drag down Republican candidates across the board.
"Many will still survive because other factors, like partisan makeup of the states or districts, are also critical, but others will lose, perhaps enough to hand Democrats majority status in one or both chambers of Congress. There are relatively few places where Trump's approval is not under water."
"It's a pretty grim map for the president," Grant Davis Reeher, a professor of political science at Syracuse University, told Newsweek.
"In a traditional midterm, the president's approval rating is important, as the midterms are in large part referendums on the president's first two years. In addition, there is a natural 'buyer's remorse' regarding the president, which leads to losses for the president's party . The only recent exception was 2002, and that was driven by 9/11."
Reeher added, "The Democrats' brand also has a terrible approval rating, so this midterm is a little more uncertain. But I would still expect Democrats to perform well and retake the House, given all the factors."
In response to inquiries about polling, White House spokesperson Davis Ingle previously told Newsweek that the almost 80 million Americans who voted for Trump gave him a mandate to "deliver on his popular and commonsense agenda."
"No other President in history has accomplished more for the American people than President Trump, who is working tirelessly to create jobs, cool inflation, increase housing affordability, and more," Ingle said.
"The President has already made historic progress not only in America but around the world, and this is just the beginning as his agenda continues taking effect."
Contact Newsweek editors on this story: John Fitzpatrick and Shakeema Edwards .
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