A new CNN poll finds Democrats holding a sizable lead in the generic congressional ballot, 51% to 37%, driven by a unified base of Democrats. That is a monster wave. 98% of self-identified Democrats say they prefer the Democratic candidate in their congressional district, compared to 88% of Republicans who prefer the GOP candidate in their district.
Meanwhile, President Trump’s approval rate remains underwater at 37% to 57%.
BREAKING! Roy Moore & Doug Jones tied in #AL-SEN @FoxNews #Poll MORE: https://t.co/gbaOyMA1Wq pic.twitter.com/qh3WXCwKAb
— Fox News Poll (@foxnewspoll) October 17, 2017
A new Fox News poll in Alabama finds Roy Moore (R) in a dead heat with Doug Jones (D) for U.S. Senate, 42% to 42%, with another 11% unsure. Among just the 53% of Alabama registered voters who are “extremely” or “very interested” in the race, Jones has a one-point edge over Moore, 46% to 45%.
A slim majority of Americans (52%) oppose President Donald Trump’s recent tax reform proposals, according to a new CNN poll conducted by SSRS, while only one-third (34%) say they support the Trump plan. Support is split largely along party lines. Eight-in-10 Democrats say they oppose the plans, but seven-in-10 Republicans say they support them. Independents break against the proposals: 50% opposed to 35% in favor. About 14% say they don’t have an opinion.
Indeed, half of Americans disapprove of the way Trump is handling taxes, the highest level in CNN polling so far, while only 36% say they approve of his job performance on taxes. This is similar to a 34% approve to 47% disapprove split on the issue in September.
A new Wason Center poll in Virginia finds Ralph Northam’s (D) lead over Ed Gillespie (R) has narrowed in the contest to be Virginia’s next governor, 48% to 44%.
A new poll by Greenberg Quinlan Rosner shows a 55- 45% majority of registered voters trust Democrats in Congress more than Donald Trump to handle America’s national security. This represents a huge 18-point swing toward Democrats since March, when a 54-46% majority said they trusted Trump more.
The declining trust of Americans toward Trump on national security comes at a time when the country and Trump administration face a host of foreign challenges, from growing tensions with North Korea, to Trump’s recent decision to decertify the Iran deal, to a consensus that Russia meddled in the 2016 US election.
The American public particularly lacks faith in Trump’s ability to deal with North Korea – arguably the most dangerous of his immediate national security challenges. The public trusts Democrats in Congress more than they trust Trump to deal with North Korea, by a 57-42% margin. This 15 point Democratic edge is up 5 points just since this August, when Trump first threatened North Korea with “fire and fury” – a sign that Trump’s bellicose rhetoric is undermining his own public support, rather than enhancing it.
As I predicted the Republicans have reached the “to hell with the deficit” point in their love of tax cuts for the rich and plan to press on for massive tax cuts followed by massive cuts in spending on social programs of all sorts, including Medicare. Suspect much of this is posturing for the far right and billionaires and suspect most of the draconian cuts to social programs will either be moderated or removed. For me it’s all about the stock market, at 23,000 points we’re well into Alan Greenspan’s “excessive exuberance” zone, a brisk 20 point drop and everybody shuts up about tax cuts. You know it’s coming, it always does.