As America enters the closing stages of this year’s midterm election campaign, Republicans are not just on the back foot ahead of their date with destiny on Tuesday, 3 November, they are flat on their backs in the ring – and the referee has already started the count.
The roots of what appears to be impending disaster for America’s Grand Old Party lie in a series of numbers that provide incontrovertible evidence of the damage caused to the Republican brand by President Donald Trump. His name does not appear on any ballot paper this November, but the White House conceded months ago that the force of his personality makes this year’s electoral cycle a de facto referendum on his return to power.
With Trump’s fellow party lawmakers battling to preserve their positions and slim Republican majorities in the House of Representatives and the Senate, polling and surveys have for months shown the President’s support cratering. On every single issue voters are questioned about, they disapprove both of his approach and the support proffered by his party’s elected representatives.
Trump’s ratings are tanking
A look at the details underlying Trump’s approval ratings shows that there is not one issue on which he can claim majority support of Americans. CNN’s most recent survey, conducted in late July, showed the President’s overall approval rating stood at just 34 per cent. But on key individual issues he is in an even worse position.
