Trump Approval Edges Up to 32% as Democrats Hold Lead Ahead of Midterms

US President Donald Trump's public approval rating rose slightly to 32%, a gain of one percentage point from last week's record low, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll completed on Monday. The survey comes ahead of the November 3 midterm elections, which will determine which party controls Congress.

Republicans are working to hold their majorities in both the House of Representatives and the Senate. Losing either chamber could complicate Trump's agenda during the final two years of his second term.

The five-day national poll asked registered voters which party they would choose for Congress. Democrats were favored over Republicans by 47% to 36%, while 11% said they did not know how they would vote if the election were held now.

The 11-point gap was one point narrower than in a Reuters/Ipsos poll that closed on October 19. This time, pollsters also asked undecided voters which party they leaned toward. With those responses included, the race looked somewhat tighter, with Democrats ahead by 9 points, 50% to 41%.

Generic ballot polls give a broad picture of national sentiment about which party people want in charge of Congress. They do not capture the state-by-state and district-by-district contests that decide control of the Senate and House, where Republicans hold some structural advantages. Political analysts generally see Democrats as having a good chance of winning the House, but they face a steeper climb in the Senate.

Turnout remains an open question. Among the voters who appeared most likely to cast ballots, Democrats still led by 9 points, 53% to 44%. Democratic voters also reported more excitement: 46% of Democrats said they were very enthusiastic about the midterms, compared with 30% of Republicans.

The contest for Congress has appeared to hinge on concerns about inflation, which has surged since Trump ordered military strikes on Iran in February that pushed gasoline prices higher. In the poll, 73% of voters said their cost of living was heading in the wrong direction.

Before the war began, Reuters/Ipsos polls showed voters preferring Republicans over Democrats as the better stewards of the US economy. The latest survey found 37% of voters saying Democrats have a better approach to the economy, compared with 33% who chose Republicans.

The online poll gathered responses from 1,679 US adults, including 1,280 registered voters. It has a margin of error of 2 percentage points for all adults and 3 percentage points for registered voters.