Poll: Warning signs for GOP amid health care fight
A new Politico/Morning Consult poll released Wednesday contains some warning signs for President Trump and congressional Republicans as they continue crafting a health care bill and look ahead to the 2018 midterm elections.
Thirty-eight percent of voters in the survey said they approve of the health care bill Republicans recently pushed through the House of Representatives. 44 percent of voters said they disapprove of that bill, known as the American Health Care Act (AHCA). Just last week, those numbers were roughly reversed, with 42 percent approving and 37 percent disapproving.
Perhaps more ominous for Republicans is the enthusiasm gap: 29 percent of respondents said they strongly oppose the AHCA, while only 13 percent said they strongly support it.
The AHCA passed the House last week on a mostly-party line vote, with 217 lawmakers (all Republicans) supporting it, and 213 lawmakers (193 Democrats and 20 Republicans) opposing it. The Senate has now taken up the issue, but it's likely whatever emerges from the upper chamber will differ significantly from the House bill.
The law Republicans are seeking to replace – the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare – earned approval from 50 percent of voters in the survey, while 42 percent said they disapprove of that law.
The Politico poll also showed Republicans losing ground on the question of which party voters want to control Congress. In the same survey last week, Republicans and Democrats were tied on the generic congressional ballot preference at 41 percent apiece. This week, 42 percent of respondents said they'd vote for a generic Democrat for Congress, and only 36 percent said they'd vote for a generic Republican.
Mr. Trump's approval rating in the Politico/Morning Consult survey stood at 44 percent, down from 48 percent the previous week. His disapproval rating was 49 percent, up from 46 percent.
Several other new surveys have put the president's approval rating fairly deep underwater. In a Quinnipiac poll released Wednesday, 36 percent of voters said they approve of the job Mr. Trump is doing, while 58 percent said they disapprove. In a Gallup poll released Wednesday, only 40 percent of respondents said they approve of Mr. Trump's job performance, while 53 percent said they disapprove. And in an Economist/YouGov survey also released Wednesday, 43 percent said they approve of the job the president is doing, while 52 percent disagreed.
The Politico/Morning Consult poll surveyed 1,996 registered voters from May 4-6, and it has a margin of error of plus or minus two percent.
The Quinnipiac poll surveyed 1,078 voters nationwide between May 4 and 9, and it has a margin of error of plus or minus three percent.
The Gallup poll surveyed 1,500 Americans over a three-day period, and it has a margin of error of plus or minus three percent.
The Economist poll surveyed 1,287 registered voters from May 6-9, and it has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.1 percent.