America's wits' end election approaches
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A quartet of polls out this week carries a stark message: Americans feel disgruntled, dizzy and down on the man in the White House.
Why it matters: The vibes going into the midterms are bleak, with a large majority of voters wanting significant change. But the question remains whether those sentiments will drive them to the polls.
Driving the news: Nearly three-quarters of Americans rate the economy as only fair or poor, per a Fox News poll out Wednesday.
- Seven in ten voters say they feel like things in the country are out of control, per a The Economist/YouGov survey conducted October 10-12.
- And eight in ten, new AP/NORC polling found, want to see either "substantial change" or "complete and total upheaval" in how the country is run. Among Republicans, 58% share those sentiments.
Zoom out: That national angst appears to be dragging down the president's approval. Fox News found that Trump's approval rating on inflation, which picked up last month, is at a new low: 22%.
- His overall job approval rating has also fallen to a new floor in Fox News surveys for either term: 36%.
- Fox says that drop is largely driven by voters under 45, those with household incomes below $50,000, non-white voters and those without a college degree.
What they're saying: White House spokesman Davis Ingle said in a statement provided to Axios that "[u]nderestimating President Trump and this administration have proven the experts and pollsters wrong every single time."
Yes, but: Polling suggests that disgruntlement doesn't necessarily translate into a wellspring of positive energy toward Democrats.
- Far more voters say they're somewhat or very pessimistic about the Democratic Party's future (47%) than those who say they're optimistic (21%), per AP/NORC.
- About half say they're pessimistic about Republicans' future, while around 23% say they're optimistic.
Still, Fox found that if the election were held today, 54% of voters would back the Democrat in their House district, while 45% would support the Republican — a wider lead for Dems than the prior month.
- Plus, Fox found that Republicans have lost ground to Democrats in earning voters' trust on key issues like inflation and foreign policy.
Between the lines: Republicans know that they're playing defense in an uphill midterm battle.
- They have flooded the airwaves in once-safe states and are pulling ads in those that look like a lost cause, Axios' Hans Nichols reports.
- But it's not smooth sailing for Democratic leadership — they are still navigating tough races and risk welcoming a new, rebellious caucus to Washington that says it's willing to buck the party.
The bottom line: Pollsters don't have crystal balls — and whether Americans' discontent translates into a midterm upheaval will only be clear after votes are cast.
Go deeper: Americans are losing faith in their fellow voters
Methodology: The AP/NORC poll was conducted October 8-12, 2026. Online and telephone interviews using landlines and cell phones were conducted with 1,119 adults — 1,070 via the web and 49 by telephone. The overall margin of sampling error is +/-3.9 percentage points.
The Econmist/YouGov poll was conducted October 10-12, 2026, with 1,403 U.S. registered voters surveyed via web-based interviews. The overall margin of sampling error is +/-3.5 percentage points.
The Fox News poll was conducted October 9-12, 2026 under the joint direction of Beacon Research (D) and Shaw & Company Research (R), with 1,202 registered voters nationwide. Respondents spoke with live interviewers on landlines (114) and cellphones (786) or completed the survey online by following a link received via text message (302). The overall margin of sampling error is +/-2.5 percentage points.
