Results are in from the newest NPR/PBS News/Marist poll

People say they are more likely to choose a Democrat to represent them in Congress, and feel Democrats would be better at tackling top issues like the economy and foreign policy.

SCOTT DETROW, HOST: Big political news - the latest NPR/PBS News/Marist poll is here. People say they are more likely to choose a Democrat to represent them in Congress, and they feel Democrats would be better at tackling top issues like the economy and foreign policy. The survey of registered voters finds strong disapproval of President Trump's job performance. NPR's Stephen Fowler joins us to explain. Hi, Stephen. STEPHEN FOWLER, BYLINE: Hey there. DETROW: Hey. Worth saying out loud, polls are a snapshot in time. It's still September, but this particular snapshot comes at a time of rising gas prices, the ongoing war in Iran, other concerns about affordability. How does that show up in the data? FOWLER: Well, big picture, President Trump has only grown less popular in the eyes of the public in the last year and a half. His net approval rating is twice as bad as it was back in 2018, when there was a backlash to his first term. And the share of voters who strongly disapprove of him is higher than any point in his entire time in office. I mean, you mentioned gas prices and the war. The new poll finds registered voters actually say they think Democrats would be better than Republicans at handling gas prices, the economy, foreign policy, even immigration, which is viewed as one of the Republican Party's strongest policy areas. DETROW: So, Stephen, we know from this poll - and we've seen other trends - that people are not happy with Trump and they are not - they do not seem to be happy with Republicans in Congress, but I feel like every time we have a conversation like this about a poll or a focus group, then the next thing is - and yes, they also don't like the Democrats. Has that changed at all? FOWLER: You know, on the surface, you could wonder that. I mean, Democrats have a 12-point advantage with registered voters in who they'd pick for Congress - 53-41. Democrats have more voter enthusiasm this year. Independent voters say they are more supportive of Democrats. And in primaries this year, you saw an explosion of people voting in Democratic primaries across the country. That wild swing in preference means competitive races are happening in pretty red areas for the House and Senate. DETROW: The way you are saying all this makes me think a but is coming. FOWLER: Big but. The largest motivating factor for Democrats appears to be showing up to vote against Trump. Eighty percent of Democrats and 45% of the voters overall said that's their reason, compared to a quarter who say it's for Trump. So that may work for now, but it doesn't really make a sustainable coalition for the future. And more people say they want to vote for candidates who bring new ideas and change over experience and a proven record, which also includes incumbent Democrats as we saw a number of those get ousted in primaries - at least the ones that didn't retire. DETROW: About six weeks ago to election day. People are already voting in some places. What are Republicans doing to try and turn the tide? FOWLER: This poll is of registered voters, so things could be better or worse, depending on who actually shows up to vote in this midterm. So there's obviously a big push to get out the base voters, like that Republican midterm convention earlier this month in Texas. There's also hundreds of millions of dollars in ads pouring in to help Republican nominees in key House and Senate races, especially from Trump-aligned super PACs, in a way that Democrats just cannot match. It's also notable to me that last week, Vice President JD Vance did some campaign stops in Kansas and Iowa, two places where Trump won by double digits but now have Senate races that could be close. DETROW: With Trump so unpopular, are Republican candidates trying to distance themselves from him in any way? FOWLER: Yes. Last week, you had Florida Representative Maria Elvira Salazar - who represents a district where Trump won by more than 14 points in 2024 - release a campaign ad. She stared directly to the camera and told the president that, quote, "some of your immigration enforcement efforts have gone too far." And this week, you had the Republican Senate nominees in Iowa and Michigan reverse their positions, come out against the war in Iran and call for suspension of gas taxes to combat rising prices as their states also saw record diesel prices. We've also seen candidates scrub any mention of Trump from their campaign websites. Many of them skipped that convention, and some have tried out a more bipartisan tone. Though, Scott, it remains to be seen if anything can convince voters that there's a difference, especially when you have Trump reminding folks that he is, in fact, on the ballot in his mind. DETROW: NPR's Stephen Fowler, thanks so much. FOWLER: Thank you. Copyright © 2026 NPR. All rights reserved. Visit our website terms of use and permissions pages at www.npr.org for further information. Accuracy and availability of NPR transcripts may vary. Transcript text may be revised to correct errors or match updates to audio. Audio on npr.org may be edited after its original broadcast or publication. The authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio record.

SCOTT DETROW, HOST: Big political news - the latest NPR/PBS News/Marist poll is here. People say they are more likely to choose a Democrat to represent them in Congress, and they feel Democrats would be better at tackling top issues like the economy and foreign policy. The survey of registered voters finds strong disapproval of President Trump's job performance. NPR's Stephen Fowler joins us to explain. Hi, Stephen. STEPHEN FOWLER, BYLINE: Hey there. DETROW: Hey. Worth saying out loud, polls are a snapshot in time. It's still September, but this particular snapshot comes at a time of rising gas prices, the ongoing war in Iran, other concerns about affordability. How does that show up in the data? FOWLER: Well, big picture, President Trump has only grown less popular in the eyes of the public in the last year and a half. His net approval rating is twice as bad as it was back in 2018, when there was a backlash to his first term. And the share of voters who strongly disapprove of him is higher than any point in his entire time in office. I mean, you mentioned gas prices and the war. The new poll finds registered voters actually say they think Democrats would be better than Republicans at handling gas prices, the economy, foreign policy, even immigration, which is viewed as one of the Republican Party's strongest policy areas. DETROW: So, Stephen, we know from this poll - and we've seen other trends - that people are not happy with Trump and they are not - they do not seem to be happy with Republicans in Congress, but I feel like every time we have a conversation like this about a poll or a focus group, then the next thing is - and yes, they also don't like the Democrats. Has that changed at all? FOWLER: You know, on the surface, you could wonder that. I mean, Democrats have a 12-point advantage with registered voters in who they'd pick for Congress - 53-41. Democrats have more voter enthusiasm this year. Independent voters say they are more supportive of Democrats. And in primaries this year, you saw an explosion of people voting in Democratic primaries across the country. That wild swing in preference means competitive races are happening in pretty red areas for the House and Senate. DETROW: The way you are saying all this makes me think a but is coming. FOWLER: Big but. The largest motivating factor for Democrats appears to be showing up to vote against Trump. Eighty percent of Democrats and 45% of the voters overall said that's their reason, compared to a quarter who say it's for Trump. So that may work for now, but it doesn't really make a sustainable coalition for the future. And more people say they want to vote for candidates who bring new ideas and change over experience and a proven record, which also includes incumbent Democrats as we saw a number of those get ousted in primaries - at least the ones that didn't retire. DETROW: About six weeks ago to election day. People are already voting in some places. What are Republicans doing to try and turn the tide? FOWLER: This poll is of registered voters, so things could be better or worse, depending on who actually shows up to vote in this midterm. So there's obviously a big push to get out the base voters, like that Republican midterm convention earlier this month in Texas. There's also hundreds of millions of dollars in ads pouring in to help Republican nominees in key House and Senate races, especially from Trump-aligned super PACs, in a way that Democrats just cannot match. It's also notable to me that last week, Vice President JD Vance did some campaign stops in Kansas and Iowa, two places where Trump won by double digits but now have Senate races that could be close. DETROW: With Trump so unpopular, are Republican candidates trying to distance themselves from him in any way? FOWLER: Yes. Last week, you had Florida Representative Maria Elvira Salazar - who represents a district where Trump won by more than 14 points in 2024 - release a campaign ad. She stared directly to the camera and told the president that, quote, "some of your immigration enforcement efforts have gone too far." And this week, you had the Republican Senate nominees in Iowa and Michigan reverse their positions, come out against the war in Iran and call for suspension of gas taxes to combat rising prices as their states also saw record diesel prices. We've also seen candidates scrub any mention of Trump from their campaign websites. Many of them skipped that convention, and some have tried out a more bipartisan tone. Though, Scott, it remains to be seen if anything can convince voters that there's a difference, especially when you have Trump reminding folks that he is, in fact, on the ballot in his mind. DETROW: NPR's Stephen Fowler, thanks so much. FOWLER: Thank you. Copyright © 2026 NPR. All rights reserved. Visit our website terms of use and permissions pages at www.npr.org for further information. Accuracy and availability of NPR transcripts may vary. Transcript text may be revised to correct errors or match updates to audio. Audio on npr.org may be edited after its original broadcast or publication. The authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio record.

Big political news - the latest NPR/PBS News/Marist poll is here. People say they are more likely to choose a Democrat to represent them in Congress, and they feel Democrats would be better at tackling top issues like the economy and foreign policy. The survey of registered voters finds strong disapproval of President Trump's job performance. NPR's Stephen Fowler joins us to explain. Hi, Stephen. STEPHEN FOWLER, BYLINE: Hey there. DETROW: Hey. Worth saying out loud, polls are a snapshot in time. It's still September, but this particular snapshot comes at a time of rising gas prices, the ongoing war in Iran, other concerns about affordability. How does that show up in the data? FOWLER: Well, big picture, President Trump has only grown less popular in the eyes of the public in the last year and a half. His net approval rating is twice as bad as it was back in 2018, when there was a backlash to his first term. And the share of voters who strongly disapprove of him is higher than any point in his entire time in office. I mean, you mentioned gas prices and the war. The new poll finds registered voters actually say they think Democrats would be better than Republicans at handling gas prices, the economy, foreign policy, even immigration, which is viewed as one of the Republican Party's strongest policy areas. DETROW: So, Stephen, we know from this poll - and we've seen other trends - that people are not happy with Trump and they are not - they do not seem to be happy with Republicans in Congress, but I feel like every time we have a conversation like this about a poll or a focus group, then the next thing is - and yes, they also don't like the Democrats. Has that changed at all? FOWLER: You know, on the surface, you could wonder that. I mean, Democrats have a 12-point advantage with registered voters in who they'd pick for Congress - 53-41. Democrats have more voter enthusiasm this year. Independent voters say they are more supportive of Democrats. And in primaries this year, you saw an explosion of people voting in Democratic primaries across the country. That wild swing in preference means competitive races are happening in pretty red areas for the House and Senate. DETROW: The way you are saying all this makes me think a but is coming. FOWLER: Big but. The largest motivating factor for Democrats appears to be showing up to vote against Trump. Eighty percent of Democrats and 45% of the voters overall said that's their reason, compared to a quarter who say it's for Trump. So that may work for now, but it doesn't really make a sustainable coalition for the future. And more people say they want to vote for candidates who bring new ideas and change over experience and a proven record, which also includes incumbent Democrats as we saw a number of those get ousted in primaries - at least the ones that didn't retire. DETROW: About six weeks ago to election day. People are already voting in some places. What are Republicans doing to try and turn the tide? FOWLER: This poll is of registered voters, so things could be better or worse, depending on who actually shows up to vote in this midterm. So there's obviously a big push to get out the base voters, like that Republican midterm convention earlier this month in Texas. There's also hundreds of millions of dollars in ads pouring in to help Republican nominees in key House and Senate races, especially from Trump-aligned super PACs, in a way that Democrats just cannot match. It's also notable to me that last week, Vice President JD Vance did some campaign stops in Kansas and Iowa, two places where Trump won by double digits but now have Senate races that could be close. DETROW: With Trump so unpopular, are Republican candidates trying to distance themselves from him in any way? FOWLER: Yes. Last week, you had Florida Representative Maria Elvira Salazar - who represents a district where Trump won by more than 14 points in 2024 - release a campaign ad. She stared directly to the camera and told the president that, quote, "some of your immigration enforcement efforts have gone too far." And this week, you had the Republican Senate nominees in Iowa and Michigan reverse their positions, come out against the war in Iran and call for suspension of gas taxes to combat rising prices as their states also saw record diesel prices. We've also seen candidates scrub any mention of Trump from their campaign websites. Many of them