President Donald Trump’s economic approval fell to 26% in an AP-NORC survey released October 1, as household costs remain a central concern before the Midterm Elections 2026. Approval of his handling of the cost of living was lower still, at 17%.
The nationwide findings measure attitudes among U.S. adults, rather than a sample restricted to people likely to vote. They document dissatisfaction with the president’s performance without establishing which party will win congressional control in November.
Economic approval reaches a new low
The original survey results show 73% disapproved of Trump’s handling of the economy, alongside 26% who approved and 1% who skipped the question or refused to answer. Economic approval was 32% in July and 40% in March 2025.
The latest figure is the lowest economic approval recorded in the Trump surveys displayed in the topline’s historical table. The change from March 2025 is 14 percentage points, rather than a 14% decline.
On living costs, 82% disapproved and 17% approved. Less than 1% answered that they did not know, while 1% skipped or refused. The economy and living-cost questions assess related but separate judgments and should not be treated as interchangeable measures.
AP’s accompanying reporting recalls Trump’s 2024 promises to lower prices and describes disappointment among some people who supported him. Those interviews illustrate individual experiences; the representative survey provides the basis for national estimates.
Who respondents blame for higher prices
AP-NORC’s summary reports that 65% attributed higher-than-usual prices more to Trump’s policies, while 33% attributed them more to circumstances outside his control. The remaining responses were nonresponses or fewer than 1% saying they did not know.
Republicans viewed responsibility differently: 67% blamed factors beyond the president’s control. That distinction shows why dissatisfaction with costs should not automatically be interpreted as a decision to abandon the Republican Party.
The survey also found that 69% considered Trump’s handling of living costs worse than they expected. AP-NORC reported that this assessment included 52% of Republicans, demonstrating disappointment extending beyond Democratic respondents.
These findings record perceptions of responsibility. They do not calculate how much any policy contributed to prices or replace official measures of inflation, wages or employment. Establishing those relationships would require separate economic evidence.
What this means for the Midterm Elections 2026
Democrats and Republicans are competing for congressional power while respondents evaluate the administration’s economic record. Every House seat and a different third of Senate seats are elected in the regular congressional cycle, according to USAGov.
A separate KFF/AP rural voter survey provides an important qualification. Published September 23, it identified living costs as rural voters’ leading election issue, but more rural respondents trusted Republicans than Democrats to address those costs: 40% compared with 25%. Another 27% trusted neither party.
That survey covered rural registered voters, whereas the newer AP-NORC poll covered adults nationally. Their results describe different populations and cannot be combined into a single estimate of electoral support.
A potential Blue Wave remains an election scenario, not an outcome established by dissatisfaction with Trump. Likewise, Vote Blue No Matter Who is a partisan slogan rather than a finding from this survey. Neither phrase substitutes for evidence about candidates, turnout or individual races.
How the poll was conducted and what comes next
The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research conducted interviews September 24–28 with funding from AP and NORC at the University of Chicago. Researchers used NORC’s probability-based AmeriSpeak panel.
According to the published methodology, 2,140 adults aged 18 and older completed interviews: 2,093 online and 47 by telephone. Interviews were offered in English and Spanish, and the weighted findings represent adults across the 50 states and Washington, D.C.
For the Midterm Elections 2026, the next decisive test is the November 3 vote. Readers preparing to participate can review state registration deadlines and options and confirm current requirements with their election authority.
Further polling can show whether attitudes change before the Midterm Elections 2026. The present findings establish weak assessments of Trump’s economic performance, while leaving actual voting decisions and the eventual balance of congressional power unresolved.
