After more than a decade with Donald Trump at the epicenter of U.S. politics, most voters appear exhausted and exasperated by him, according to The AP Voter Poll, a survey of midterm voters in all 50 states.
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voters → appear → states
The president’s failure to deliver on key promises — most prominently, his vows to tame inflation, which has worsened instead — clearly weighed on his fellow Republicans in Tuesday’s midterm elections for the House and the Senate.
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which → deliver → House
The polling shows that voters generally saw Trump as being more focused on his own fortune and gold-leafed existence than their needs.
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voters → show → needs
The president also helped elevate candidates with obvious flaws, amplifying their struggles in an already challenging year.
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president → help → year
He suggested in a Tuesday evening interview with Fox News Channel that Democrats “fought hard” and that the Republican base “didn’t like the candidates” he had endorsed because some of his picks were not fully loyal to him.
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some → suggest → him
But the poll also contains a serious note of caution for Democrats.
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poll → contain → Democrats
Many voters dislike the party — and while Democrats hold an advantage on key issues such as the economy, their edge is relatively slim.
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edge → dislike → economy
About 7 in 10 voters said Congress is not doing enough to provide checks and balances for the president, setting the bar for Democrats who won back the Senate and the House.
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who → say → Senate
Inflation crushed Republicans
It was impossible for GOP candidates to hide from inflation.
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candidates → crush → inflation
Voters could see it clearly in their receipts from grocery stores and gasoline stations.
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Voters → see → stores
And even in Republican strongholds such as Texas, the drag caused by inflation helped Democrats.
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drag → cause → Democrats
About 2 in 10 Texas voters said inflation had imposed “severe” hardship on them and their family — and about three-quarters of this group backed Democrat James Talarico for the Senate.
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quarters → say → Senate
An additional 6 in 10 voters, roughly, said inflation had led to “moderate” hardship, and Talarico won the majority of these voters, too.
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Talarico → say → voters
That same pattern repeated in state after state.
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pattern → repeat → state
Nationally, voters who said they were “very concerned” about everyday costs — including groceries, healthcare and gas — overwhelmingly said they voted for the Democratic candidate in their local U.S. House race.
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they → say → race
But it wasn’t just the inflation itself that mattered.
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that → matter → ?
Voters nationwide pinned the blame on Trump for his tariffs, his war in Iran and his unfulfilled campaign promise two years ago to bring down prices.
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Voters → pin → prices
Asked about the impact of Trump’s policies, about two-thirds of voters nationwide said they had made the economy worse.
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economy → ask → voters
And out of this group, about 8 in 10 said they backed the Democratic candidate.
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they → say → candidate
Corruption was a major concern
More than half of voters nationally said government corruption was “crucial” for their vote for Congress.
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corruption → say → Congress
That was a little higher than the share who said the cost of living was “crucial,” a striking finding in a year when about 6 in 10 voters said they were personally “very concerned” about the cost of food and groceries.
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they → say → food
Meanwhile, despite Republicans’ suggestion that voters cared little about Trump making more than $1 billion last year from meme coins and cryptocurrency, most voters saw Trump as obsessed with his own interests.
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voters → care → interests
During his second term, Trump solicited donations from powerful companies to build his desired White House ballroom after having surprised the country by rapidly demolishing what had been the building’s East Wing.
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what → solicit → country
That tenor set at the top spilled over into business deals for his family and other deals by his associates involving pardons and federal policies.
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tenor → set → pardons
Ultimately, about two-thirds of voters said Trump does not have the right priorities — and the overwhelming majority of these voters supported Democratic House candidates.
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majority → say → candidates
Voters want an assertive Congress
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Voters → want → Congress
Much of the Republican-controlled House and Senate barely objected to his whims.
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Much → control → whims
He laid off federal workers, imposed sweeping new tariffs, launched the war with Iran, remodeled Washington in gold paint, threatened the Federal Reserve, the Kennedy Center and the Smithsonian Institution and bullied a bevy of longtime allies.
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He → lay → allies
Voters made it clear that they want more congressional oversight.
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they → make → oversight
About 7 in 10 voters said Congress was not doing enough to provide checks and balances for the presidency, including about 4 in 10 Republicans.
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Congress → say → Republicans
Swing voters don’t really love Democrats, even if they voted for them
Despite Democrats’ victories, voters did not deliver a ringing endorsement of the party as a whole.
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voters → love → whole
Many voters expressed frustration with both parties: On the economy, foreign policy, healthcare, taxes and immigration, roughly 2 in 10 voters said “neither” party was better equipped to handle these issues.
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party → express → issues
An even larger share of voters said neither party would be better at addressing government corruption or artificial intelligence.
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party → say → corruption
Those skeptical voters generally broke for Democrats.
But it wasn’t because the party was overwhelmingly popular.
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party → break → Democrats
Only about half of voters had a “somewhat” or “strongly” favorable view of the Democratic Party.
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half → have → Party
That was higher than the approximately 4 in 10 who viewed the GOP positively, but not by much.
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who → view → much
About 2 in 10 voters who supported Democratic candidates had a negative view of the party as a whole.
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who → support → whole
Instead, in key races, voters seemed to be looking to Democratic candidates for change.
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voters → seem → change
In Maine, for instance, most voters who said having a candidate with “the right experience” mattered most to their Senate decision chose Republican incumbent Susan Collins.
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having → say → Collins
But more voters cared about bringing about “needed change,” and they favored Democrat Troy Jackson.
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they → care → Jackson
…and 12 more, not listed.
The Aporia
