Voter Polls Show How Democrats Won the US House: Disapproval of Trump and Anger over the Economy

Democrats are projected to retake the House of Representatives for the first time since 2020, in an election where President Donald Trump's shadow loomed large over the proceedings. According to ABC News Voter Polls, Democrats made small but substantive improvements in their share of the vote across many groups and benefited from Trump's deep unpopularity and voters' negativity about the economy.

About 6 in 10 Americans who voted on US House races disapprove of Trump's performance as president, including 53 percent who strongly disapprove, according to ABC News Voter Polls.

Voters who strongly disapproved of Trump supported Democrats for the House by an 89-percentage-point margin. Just 2 in 10 voters in House races strongly approved of Trump, and they supported Republicans by a 96-point margin.

More than half of voters for the House strongly disapprove of Trump's performance as president, according to ABC News voter polling — the highest strong disapproval share for any president dating back to the 2008 election, when George W. Bush was president and Barack Obama was elected.

About two-thirds of those who voted in House races say Trump has the wrong priorities, and a similar share says he prioritises his own personal interests over those of the country. These voters chose Democrats for the House over Republicans by 69 percentage points and 73 points respectively, according to ABC News voter polling.

More Americans who voted in House races say their vote was to express opposition to Trump rather than support for him in ABC News voter polling, 43 percent to 16 percent, and 96 percent of the opposition voters voted for Democrats.

Three-quarters of these voters rated the state of the economy negatively, and they supported Democrats by 40 percentage points.

About 7 in 10 Americans who voted on House races say the US economic system generally favours the wealthy rather than being fair to most Americans, and they supported the Democrats by about a 3-to-1 margin.

More voters say their family's financial situation has gotten worse than better in the past two years, by more than a 2-to-1 margin, and they largely supported Democrats. About 8 in 10 voters in House races felt inflation had caused their family severe or moderate hardship in the past year, with most of them supporting Democrats, and 62 percent of these voters blamed Trump's policies for higher than usual prices rather than factors outside of his control, according to ABC News Voter Polls.

The Democratic Party held a slight advantage in favourability over Republicans — 47 percent versus 41 percent — and also won a 25-percentage-point lead among the 15 percent of double haters who are unfavourable toward both parties, per ABC News Voter Polls.

Democrats improved on their typical wide lead among voters under 30 in House races, winning roughly three quarters of their votes, compared with just more than half in 2024.

About a third of voters do not identify with either major political party, but they backed Democrats in House races by a 56 percent to 39 percent margin. In the previous two elections, independent voters split roughly evenly between the two parties, according to Edison Research.