September 12, 2018 - Dems Have 14-Point Lead In U.S. House Races Nationwide, Quinnipiac University National Poll Finds; Voters Back Media Over Trump By Wide Margin

PDF format

Trend Information

Sample and Methodology detail



American voters back Democratic candidates over Republicans 52 - 38 percent in races for the U.S. House of Representatives nationwide, according to a Quinnipiac University National Poll released today.





Independent voters back Democrats over Republicans 50 - 35 percent, the independent Quinnipiac (KWIN-uh-pe-ack) University National Poll finds.





Democrats lead by a narrow 48 - 42 percent among men and by a wide 55 - 35 percent among women. White voters are divided as 48 percent go Republican and 45 percent go Democratic. Democrats lead 84 - 7 percent among black voters and 64 - 22 percent among Hispanic voters.





American voters disapprove 72 - 18 percent of the job the U.S. Congress is doing. There is no listed party, gender, education, age or racial group which approves of Congress.





Congress should be more of a check on President Donald Trump, voters say 58 - 27 percent. Republicans say 62 - 11 percent that Congress is doing enough to check the president, the only listed group to feel that way.





But voters say 56 - 36 percent they would not like to see Congress begin impeachment proceedings against President Trump.





"By a 14-point margin, Americans would rather vote for the Democratic candidate in their local race for the U.S. House of Representatives. Could the 'blue wave' become a tsunami?" asked Tim Malloy, assistant director of the Quinnipiac University Poll.





"There are a lot of factors, and eight weeks of campaigning, that make up the answer to that question.





"Whoever wins, they're going into a Congress with an abysmal approval rating."





"American voters don't want Congress to tell President Donald Trump, 'You're fired!' by serving him with articles of impeachment," Malloy added.





Trump and the Media





American voters trust the news media more than President Trump 54 - 30 percent to tell the truth about important issues. Republicans trust Trump more than the media 72 - 12 percent, the only group that trusts Trump more. White voters with no college degree are divided as 45 percent trust Trump more and 43 percent trust the media more.





The news media is an important part of democracy, 69 percent of voters say, as 21 percent say the media is the enemy of the people. Republicans say 47 - 31 percent the media is the enemy of the people rather than an important part of democracy, the only listed group to feel that way.





From September 6 - 9, Quinnipiac University surveyed 1,038 voters nationwide, with a margin of error of +/- 3.7 percentage points, including design effect. Live interviewers call landlines and cell phones.





The Quinnipiac University Poll, directed by Douglas Schwartz, Ph.D., conducts nationwide public opinion surveys, and statewide polls in Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Florida, Ohio, Virginia, Iowa, Colorado and Texas as a public service and for research.





Visit poll.qu.edu or www.facebook.com/quinnipiacpoll





Call (203) 582-5201, or follow us on Twitter @QuinnipiacPoll.





1. If the election for the U.S. House of Representatives were being held today, would you vote for the Democratic candidate or the Republican candidate in your congressional district? (If undecided) As of today, do you lean more toward the Democratic candidate or more toward the Republican candidate?

WHITE...... COLLEGE DEG Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Yes No Democratic candidate 52% 4% 96% 50% 48% 55% 52% 37% Republican candidate 38 93 1 35 42 35 43 54 SMONE ELSE(VOL) - - - - - 1 - - DK/NA 9 3 3 14 9 9 5 9 AGE IN YRS.............. WHITE..... 18-34 35-49 50-64 65+ Men Wom Wht Blk Hsp Democratic candidate 61% 45% 55% 52% 41% 49% 45% 84% 64% Republican candidate 25 46 39 44 53 44 48 7 22 SMONE ELSE(VOL) 1 1 - - - - - - 1 DK/NA 13 9 6 4 6 7 7 10 12

TREND: If the election for the U.S. House of Representatives were being held today, would you vote for the Democratic candidate or the Republican candidate in your congressional district? (If undecided) As of today, do you lean more toward the Democratic candidate or more toward the Republican candidate?

SMONE Dem Rep ELSE DK/NA Sep 12, 2018 52 38 - 9 Aug 15, 2018 51 42 1 7 Jul 25, 2018 51 39 - 10 Jul 02, 2018 50 41 1 8

3. Do you approve or disapprove of the way Congress is handling its job?

WHITE...... COLLEGE DEG Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Yes No Approve 18% 31% 9% 16% 21% 14% 16% 20% Disapprove 72 54 86 76 73 72 79 65 DK/NA 10 16 5 8 6 14 6 15 AGE IN YRS.............. WHITE..... 18-34 35-49 50-64 65+ Men Wom Wht Blk Hsp Approve 26% 19% 17% 12% 19% 17% 18% 14% 22% Disapprove 64 69 78 79 73 71 72 83 65 DK/NA 11 12 6 9 8 12 10 4 13

TREND: Do you approve or disapprove of the way Congress is handling its job?

App Dis DK/NA Sep 12, 2018 18 72 10 Aug 15, 2018 15 78 7 Jul 02, 2018 15 78 7 Jun 06, 2018 13 78 9 Apr 11, 2018 12 81 7 Mar 07, 2018 13 80 6 Feb 07, 2018 15 77 8 Jan 18, 2018 16 78 6 Dec 19, 2017 13 79 8 Dec 05, 2017 12 80 8

See additional trend information at top of page





14. In general, would you like to see Congress be more of a check on President Trump, or do you think Congress is doing enough to be a check on President Trump?

WHITE...... COLLEGE DEG Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Yes No More of a check 58% 11% 91% 60% 53% 62% 57% 44% Doing enough 27 62 6 25 32 23 31 35 LESS OF A CHECK(VOL) 4 9 - 4 5 3 4 7 DK/NA 11 18 3 10 10 12 9 14 AGE IN YRS.............. WHITE..... 18-34 35-49 50-64 65+ Men Wom Wht Blk Hsp More of a check 68% 53% 59% 55% 45% 55% 50% 87% 70% Doing enough 26 28 30 28 38 29 33 6 21 LESS OF A CHECK(VOL) 3 4 4 4 6 4 5 1 2 DK/NA 3 15 7 14 11 11 11 5 8

15. Would you like to see Congress begin the process to impeach President Trump, or not?

WHITE...... COLLEGE DEG Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Yes No Yes/Impeach 36% 2% 70% 31% 28% 44% 32% 32% No 56 95 21 61 66 47 60 64 DK/NA 8 3 9 8 7 9 7 4 AGE IN YRS.............. WHITE..... 18-34 35-49 50-64 65+ Men Wom Wht Blk Hsp Yes/Impeach 46% 28% 39% 33% 24% 39% 32% 59% 42% No 49 59 56 60 70 55 62 29 48 DK/NA 5 13 5 7 6 6 6 12 11

17. Who do you trust more to tell you the truth about important issues: President Trump or the news media?

WHITE...... COLLEGE DEG Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Yes No Trump 30% 72% 1% 27% 32% 29% 32% 45% News media 54 12 89 54 51 56 54 43 DK/NA 16 16 9 19 18 15 14 12 AGE IN YRS.............. WHITE..... 18-34 35-49 50-64 65+ Men Wom Wht Blk Hsp Trump 22% 33% 34% 33% 40% 37% 38% 8% 22% News media 58 50 56 55 46 51 49 75 64 DK/NA 20 17 10 11 15 12 13 17 14

TREND: Who do you trust more to tell you the truth about important issues: President Trump or the news media?

News Trump Media DK/NA Sep 12, 2018 30 54 16 Jul 25, 2018 34 54 12 Jun 20, 2018 36 53 11 Apr 26, 2018 37 53 10 Nov 14, 2017 34 54 12 Oct 12, 2017 37 52 11 Aug 23, 2017 36 54 10 Aug 16, 2017 37 55 9 May 25, 2017 34 53 13 May 10, 2017 31 57 12

See additional trend information at top of page





18. Which comes closer to your point of view: the news media is the enemy of the people, or the news media is an important part of democracy?

WHITE...... COLLEGE DEG Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Yes No Enemy of the people 21% 47% 3% 18% 23% 19% 19% 30% Part of democracy 69 31 95 74 69 69 72 60 NEITHER(VOL) 5 10 1 3 4 5 5 3 DK/NA 6 11 2 5 4 7 4 7 AGE IN YRS.............. WHITE..... 18-34 35-49 50-64 65+ Men Wom Wht Blk Hsp Enemy of the people 20% 25% 21% 18% 28% 22% 25% 5% 13% Part of democracy 73 64 73 71 66 66 66 89 80 NEITHER(VOL) 3 6 3 4 3 5 4 2 - DK/NA 4 5 4 7 3 7 5 4 7

TREND: Which comes closer to your point of view: the news media is the enemy of the people, or the news media is an important part of democracy?