The November 3 US midterm elections are a test for President Donald Trump. Many voters feel unhappy about rising living costs, immigration enforcement, and the conflict with Iran. Recent polls showed his job approval at 32 percent. Republicans now fight to keep their narrow majorities as the campaign gets intense.
US midterm elections 2026 are shaping up as a key test for Donald Trump, with economic pressures, rising living costs and immigration enforcement driving voter discontent.
The November 3 US midterm elections are shaping up as a test of President Donald Trump's second-term record, with rising living costs, immigration enforcement and the conflict with Iran emerging as major issues for voters. Republicans are defending narrow majorities in Congress as polls show dissatisfaction with Trump's handling of the economy and a lead for Democrats in the congressional preference ballot.
Reuters has identified affordability, immigration and Trump's approval ratings as three of the major issues shaping the final stretch of the campaign.
EXPRESS INFOGENIE · US POLITICS
Trump approval ratings:How voters view his performance
A comparison of national polling on overall job approval and separate assessments of the economy, cost of living and Iran.
POLL SNAPSHOT · OCTOBER 2026
Overall job approval
Share who approve of Donald Trump's performance as president.
CNN / SSRS 32%
Field dates: Oct 15-18, 2026 Sample: 1,701 US adults
Reuters / Ipsos 32%
Field dates: Oct 23-26, 2026 Sample: 1,679 US adults
AP-NORC 36%
Field dates: Oct 8-12, 2026 Sample: 1,119 US adults; 925 registered voters
Issue-specific ratings
These figures come from separate survey questions and are not directly interchangeable with overall job approval.
ECONOMY · APPROVAL
Approve of Trump's handling of the economy
CNN / SSRS · Oct 15-18, 2026 · 1,701 US adults
INFLATION · APPROVAL
Approve of Trump's handling of inflation
CNN / SSRS · Oct 15-18, 2026 · 1,701 US adults
ECONOMY · DISAPPROVAL
Disapprove of Trump's handling of the economy
AP-NORC · Oct 8-12, 2026 · 1,119 US adults
COST OF LIVING · DISAPPROVAL
Disapprove of Trump's handling of the cost of living
AP-NORC · Oct 8-12, 2026 · 1,119 US adults
IRAN · DISAPPROVAL
Disapprove of Trump's handling of Iran
AP-NORC · Sept 24-28, 2026 · 2,140 US adults
How to read the numbers
Overall job approval asks whether respondents approve of Trump's performance as president. Issue ratings ask how he is handling a specific subject. The Iran figure shown here is disapproval; the CNN economy and inflation figures are approval, while the AP-NORC economy and cost-of-living figures are disapproval. Keep these measures separate.
Methodology
CNN / SSRS: 1,701 US adults, Oct 15-18, 2026. Reuters / Ipsos: 1,679 US adults, Oct 23-26, 2026. AP-NORC: 1,119 US adults, Oct 8-12, 2026; issue ratings on Iran from a separate survey of 2,140 US adults, Sept 24-28, 2026.
Sources: CNN / SSRS; Reuters / Ipsos; AP-NORC. Link to the original poll reports when publishing. Polls are snapshots, not forecasts. Dates, sample populations and question wording differ. Percentages may not total 100 because of undecided or no-answer responses.
EXPRESS INFOGENIE · Poll data should be read with each survey's question wording, field dates and sample population.
Cost of living and rising energy prices weigh on voters
Despite Trump's 2024 presidential campaign pledge to tackle affordability issues, voters have consistently ranked the cost of living among the top issues in several polls this electoral cycle. According to a recently conducted Associated Press-NORC survey, merely 26 per cent of voters approved Trump's handling of the economy, which is two percentage points below former Democratic President Joe Biden's worst ratings on the issue.
In a Reuters/Ipsos poll, voters also highlighted that gasoline, food, housing, and healthcare are the top household bills that legislators need to focus on. Gas prices have shot up in America since the US and Israel launched military strikes against Iran on February 28. The national average price of gas, according to AAA, has risen $1.20 from a year ago to $4.28. The average cost of diesel has increased $2.70 from a year earlier to $6.32.
According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics data on consumer prices, in comparison to last year, grocery prices have climbed by up to 1.8 per cent. Meanwhile, housing prices spiralled 2.1 per cent over the same period, Federal Housing Finance Agency data showed.
Healthcare cuts and subsidies emerge as election issues
Healthcare costs and federal health spending have also become campaign issues. A Republican-backed tax-cut extension reduced projected spending on Medicaid and other health programmes by roughly $1 trillion, according to Reuters.
Democrats also made the extension of enhanced Affordable Care Act premium tax credits a central demand during the 2025 government shutdown. The subsidies had benefited around 24 million Americans, Reuters reported. The dispute has kept healthcare affordability in focus as voters prepare to elect a new Congress.
Immigration crackdown faces public pushback
One of the signature issues in the upcoming midterm elections is immigration, wherein the Trump administration has been proactive in enforcement and closing the borders. Trump has repeatedly boasted of the impact of his closure of the southern border as one of his biggest achievements, even making comparisons with the performance of Biden.
Data from the Department of Homeland Security showed a 95 per cent drop in migrants apprehended at the southwest border compared with Biden's administration. The department further said that there have been no releases by the Border Patrol for the entire fiscal year for the first time, Reuters reported. But it's the fatal encounters in the guise of an immigration crackdown by federal agents in Maine, Minnesota, and Texas that have made headlines and received pushback from American citizens.
Trump brings Iran and Cuba into midterm campaign
Bringing Iran and Cuba into his electoral speech during a rally in Florida on Saturday, Trump said the US would "take care of Cuba on our way back from Iran," potentially referring to a regime change on the island. The US president has been continuously trying to make room for the war against Iran as one of the top issues which Americans should vote on in the November 3 polls.
"We'll take care of Cuba on our way back from Iran. We'll do a little stopover. Actually, what we're going to do with Cuba is we're going to come back from Iran. Those beautiful ships. We'll pass Cuba. We'll have one of them stop about 50 yards off the coast. They'll raise their hands, and then we're going to send Marco Rubio in to finish up the game," Trump told a South Florida midterm rally crowd.