Donald Trump Approval Rating: President Donald Trump’s standing with likely voters has barely shifted over the past month, but the broader political picture heading toward the 2026 midterm elections is showing more movement.

An Emerson College poll released on August 20 found that 39.5% of likely voters approve of Trump’s job performance, while 55.8% disapprove. The result is almost unchanged from July, when 39.2% approved and 56.7% disapproved.

The stability in Trump’s numbers stands in contrast to a noticeable change on the congressional generic ballot. Democrats continue to hold an advantage over Republicans, but that lead has narrowed from 11.4 percentage points in July to 7.7 points in August. That represents a 3.7-point contraction in the Democratic advantage in a month.

The two findings create a more complicated picture than a simple rise or fall in support for either party. Trump’s approval rating has effectively remained fixed, while the Democratic advantage in the midterm contest has become smaller.

Spencer Kimball, executive director of Emerson College Polling, said Trump’s approval has remained relatively steady over recent months, with roughly two in five likely voters backing his performance. Republican support remains particularly strong, with 86% of Republicans approving of the president.

Democrats retain the edge, but the gap is smaller

The shift in the generic ballot comes as more states have held primaries and November matchups have begun to take clearer shape.

During the period between the July and August surveys, additional states completed primaries and settled candidates for the general election. Democrats also recorded several victories by progressive candidates, including some who identify as democratic socialists. At the same time, more moderate figures within the party have raised concerns about whether such candidates can attract enough independent and moderate Democratic voters in November.

The poll also offered a closer look at attitudes toward the Democratic Socialists of America.

Among likely voters surveyed, 23.3% described themselves as supporters of the DSA. The distinction is notable because supporting the organization or its politics does not necessarily mean being a formal member.

Within the Democratic electorate, 46% said they considered themselves DSA supporters, while 30% said they did not and 25% were unsure. Kimball said that support was concentrated more heavily among younger Democrats.

Those numbers add another layer to the party’s midterm position. Democrats remain ahead on the generic ballot, but the poll shows that the coalition heading into November includes substantial ideological differences at the same time that its overall advantage over Republicans has tightened.

Economic concerns climb sharply

One of the biggest month-to-month changes in the poll had little to do with candidate approval.

Economic issues, including inflation, jobs and taxes, were named as the country’s most important issue by 36.5% of respondents in August. In July, that figure stood at 27.1%.

That is a 9.4 percentage-point increase in just one month.

Threats to democracy, meanwhile, were selected by 15.8% of likely voters in August, followed closely by health care at 15.5%. In July, threats to democracy had ranked first at 28.3%.

The change means the political environment reflected in the August poll is not simply about Trump’s personal approval or which party voters prefer for Congress. Voter attention itself has shifted, with economic concerns taking a substantially larger share of responses than they did a month earlier.

Neither Trump’s latest numbers show an improvement nor a degradation in his approval rating. This, however, is not true for Democrats, who still maintain their edge in the generic ballot question on congressional approval, but the margin is somewhat narrower compared to the last time the same was surveyed in July.

With the electoral map now more clearly defined following the additional round of state primaries, the August survey brings three things into focus, each changing at its own speed: Trump’s approval rating, Democratic lead in the generic ballot, and economic concerns among the electorate.

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