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Poll: Voters in 3 States Will ‘Send Message’ to Trump in Midterms

A plurality of voters in Florida, Ohio and Arizona say they intend to “send a message” that more Democrats are needed to keep President Donald Trump in check, according to an NBC News/Marist Poll released this week. 

(CN) - A plurality of voters in Florida, Ohio and Arizona say they intend to “send a message” that more Democrats are needed to keep President Donald Trump in check, according to an NBC News/Marist Poll released this week.

Midterm elections are typically a referendum on the incumbent president, Republican or Democrat, and the poll suggests that this year’s elections will be no exception.

In Ohio, 51 percent of registered voters say that their votes in November will send a message that the country needs more Democrats in office to check Trump, while 35 percent of voters in the Buckeye state think a majority of Republicans are required to pass Trump's agenda.

In Florida, 49 percent said they would vote Democrat for the same reason, while 40 percent said they would pull the lever for the GOP to push Trump’s policies through Congress. In Arizona, 52 percent of registered voters said they want to send a message to Trump, and 36 percent of voters want more Republicans.

According to a national Gallup poll conducted June 18 through June 24, Trump’s approval rating stands at 41 percent, with 55 percent disapproving. That’s roughly in line with NBC News/Marist results in Ohio and Florida where Trump has an approval rating of 40 percent and 43 percent, respectively. The picture was bleaker for the president in Arizona, where 39 percent approve.

Despite his approval ratings, there was brighter news for Trump on the issue of the economy.  A plurality of Ohio and Arizona residents, 45 percent in each state, said Trump should take credit for an improved economy. In Florida, 46 percent said he should take credit.

Trump beat presidential candidate Hillary Clinton in Ohio by eight points in the 2016 general election, but now 57 percent of residents in the state do not think he deserves reelection, according to the poll.

“Trump carried Ohio by a comfortable margin in 2016,” said Lee Miringoff, director of The Marist College Institute for Public Opinion. “But, today only about one-third of Ohio voters would like to see the president win another term, and even more than one in five Republicans think it’s time to give someone else a chance.”

More than half of Florida adults, or 56 percent, do not think Trump should be reelected in 2020. Signaling more discontent in Arizona, where Trump beat Clinton by 3.5 percentage points, almost six in ten Arizona residents, or 59 percent, said someone else should become commander-in-chief.

A plurality of voters in the three states believes that Robert Mueller's investigation into the Trump administration and his campaign and Russian interference in the election is “fair.” Less of them agree with the president's characterization of the investigation as a "witch hunt."

Half of the residents of the Grand Canyon State fell on the side of supporting the investigation, and 33 against, according to the poll. Forty-six percent of Floridians agree it’s fair and 37 believe it's a witch hunt, and close to half of Ohio residents agree it’s fair, with 32 percent agreeing that it's a witch hunt.

The picture looks promising for Democrats on a generic congressional ballot, with the Democrat leading the Republican by seven points in Arizona and by six points in Florida. In Ohio, the Democrat is ahead of the generic Republican by four points.

Democratic Senator Sherrod Brown has opened up a 13-point lead over Republican Jim Renacci, the poll reports. In Florida, Democratic incumbent Bill Nelson is four points ahead of Republican Rick Scott in a race for a seat for the U.S. Senate.

In Arizona, Democrats are hoping to win a seat retired by Republican Senator Jeff Flake, a vocal opponent of Trump. Democrat Kyrsten Sinema will face off after Republicans pick their nominee in a hotly contested primary election. Her strongest showing was against controversial former sheriff Joe Arpaio.

The poll put her 25 points ahead of the Republican hopeful.

Categories / Government, Politics

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