Poll Reveals Voter Support for Democrats Amidst Distrust in Parties

WHO:

ABC News - Aaron Siever, a 41-year-old from southwest Virginia, expressed frustration with political parties.

ABC News - Meagan Ludwig, a 41-year-old real estate broker from Milwaukee, voted for democratic socialist Francesca Hong in the Democratic primary for governor.

WHAT:

ABC News - An AP-NORC poll indicates that voters are deeply dissatisfied with President Trump and his Republican Party.

ABC News - The poll shows that 38% of registered voters believe Democrats would be better at handling the cost of living, compared to 27% for Republicans.

ABC News - Approximately 4 in 10 registered voters now favor Democrats on economic issues, up from 26% in February.

ABC News - 55% of registered voters say the Republican Party is “too extreme,” while 45% say the same about the Democratic Party.

ABC News - Only about 2 in 10 registered voters believe the Democratic Party is “able to solve important problems” or “focused on helping people like me.”

WHERE:

ABC News - The poll was conducted in the United States, with specific mentions of southwest Virginia and Milwaukee.

WHEN:

ABC News - The AP-NORC poll was conducted from Sept. 24-28.

WHY:

ABC News - Voter dissatisfaction stems from a perception that both parties are unable to solve important problems and are focused on partisanship rather than progress.

HOW:

ABC News - The AP-NORC poll surveyed 2,140 adults, including 1,766 registered voters, using a probability-based sample from NORC’s AmeriSpeak Panel. The margin of sampling error is plus or minus 2.9 percentage points for adults and plus or minus 3.1 percentage points for registered voters.

(UPDATED October 3, 2026 16:32 UTC)

A recent AP-NORC poll reveals that voters are increasingly dissatisfied with President Trump and his Republican Party, with 55% of registered voters describing the GOP as “too extreme.” The survey shows that 38% of registered voters believe Democrats would be better at handling the cost of living, a significant increase in support for Democrats on economic issues, now favored by about 4 in 10 voters. Conducted from September 24 to 28, the poll surveyed over 2,100 adults, highlighting a growing perception that both major parties are failing to address important problems and are more focused on partisanship than progress.