President Donald Trump’s endorsement prevailed again in the Texas Republican primary for Senate.
Incumbent Sen. John Cornyn lost to Attorney General Ken Paxton in the runoff on May 26 after Trump endorsed the latter candidate. Trump said Cornyn had not been loyal enough to him, and Paxton will face Democratic candidate James Talarico for the seat in November.
Cornyn alluded in a May 20 digital ad that putting scandal-embroiled Paxton up in the general election could lead to the first Democratic Senator from Texas since 1988.
Republicans also face an uphill battle in the midterms, which is often seen as a referendum on the presidency. So what do people think about Trump’s job performance?
What is Trump’s approval rating?
Trump’s approval rating has been net negative for over a year and has been fluctuating but trending more negative over the last several months. Here is Trump’s average approval rating on June 1, according to aggregators:
In a projection of Trump’s state-level approval rating by The Economist using YouGov’s data, Florida gives him a better-than-average approval rating. But it’s still underwater at -13 percentage points.
Trump’s approval hits new low in Economist/YouGov poll
Trump’s approval hit a career low in an Economist/YouGov poll conducted May 22-26 among 1,520 U.S. adult citizens. (The poll’s margin of error was about plus or minus 3.5 percentage points.)
Only 34% of Americans approved of his job performance, compared to 59% who disapprove, the poll found. That’s net negative 26 points, lower than any other poll for either of Trump’s terms or former President Joe Biden’s term, per this pollster.
The poll also found 63% of Americans say the economy is getting worse, compared to 13% who said it was getting better.
Emerson College approval poll shows 2028 contenders
Trump received a 39% job approval in an Emerson College Polling survey conducted May 24-25 among 1,000 likely voters with a credibility interval, similar to a margin of error, of plus or minus three percentage points. That is nearly the same as last month’s rating from this pollster.
Emerson also asked respondents about 2028 presidential contenders. Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio led among Republicans, 36% and 35% respectively. Former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg led among Democrats at 18%, followed by California Gov. Gavin Newsom at 16%. (The margin of error among the subgroups was higher at 4.7%).
Contributing: Phillip Bailey, Joey Garrison, USA TODAY
Kinsey Crowley is the Trump Connect reporter for the USA TODAY Network. Reach her at KCrowley@usatodayco.com. Follow her on X (Twitter), Threads, Bluesky and TikTok.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: See latest Trump approval rating polls after Texas GOP runoff win
Reporting by Kinsey Crowley, USA TODAY NETWORK / Palm Beach Post
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
