WASHINGTON (AP) — Aaron Siever has never been a one-party voter. But today, the 41-year-old from southwest Virginia is more frustrated than ever with two political parties whose main achievement, he says, is blaming each other for not doing much.
“There’s so much unrest,” said Siever, a former police officer who now guides tours of Civil War battlefields. “It really ruins the chances of doing something. It gets really disgusting.”
Voters are deeply unhappy President Donald Trump and his Republican Party in the run-up to the November 3 midterm elections, according to a Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research poll, and Democrats have gained a clear advantage on pressing issues like the cost of living and health care in just a few months.
But the survey also reveals a bigger problem for both parties: Few registered voters believe either party is capable of solving important problems or helping Americans like them.
This undercurrent of cynicism will pose a challenge for Democrats and Republicans, regardless of which party controls Congress. Frustration with Republicans is growing, but voters also don’t seem to think Democrats have a long-term solution to the country’s problems.
Democrats won on key issues, poll finds
Voters give Democrats the edge when it comes to which party would be best positioned to address the cost of living, a question that has turned out to be a weak point for Trump.
The survey found that 38% of registered voters believe Democrats would be better off on costs, compared to 27% who say the same about Republicans. The question was about evenly split among U.S. adults in February, with about 3 in 10 saying each party would be better.
Democrats also gained ground on the economy. About four in ten registered voters now choose Democrats, up from 26% of American adults in February.
These changes are good news for Democratic candidates who are increasingly hammering unpopular president – and by extension, his party. Few Americans approve of Trump’s handling of the cost of living, and views on its performance on the economy are only a little better.
Voters seem to view Republicans, in particular, as being focused on the wealthy. The survey found that about 6 in 10 registered voters say the phrase “focused on helping the rich and powerful” describes the Republican Party “extremely” or “very” well. Only about 3 in 10 registered voters say the same about the Democratic Party.
Few voters think either party focuses on people like them
Although voters expressed deep dissatisfaction with Republicans, the survey indicates they have relatively little confidence that Democrats have their issues on mind.
Democrats are less likely to be described as corrupt or focused on the rich than Republicans, but no more likely to be seen as focused on ordinary people or capable of solving problems.
Only about 2 in 10 registered voters say “capable of solving important problems” or “focused on helping people like me” describes the Democratic Party “extremely” or “very” well. This is similar to the percentages who say this about the GOP.
Democrats no longer have power in Washington, which can contribute to the impression that they are incapable of finding a solution to the problems.
In the past year alone, the federal government has twice partially shut down for weeks because of partisan conflicts in Congress over spending on health care and immigration enforcement.
But impasse is not the exclusive prerogative of Republicans. Despite Democratic majorities early in Democratic President Joe Biden’s administration, the party has failed to meet its goals on key priorities such as abortion rights, voting rights and raising the minimum wage.
Siever is frustrated by what he sees as partisan engagement in Congress at the expense of progress, at a time when consumers are paying higher prices for basic necessities such as groceries and gasoline.
Traveling the region giving lectures and leading tours, his travel costs skyrocketed and caused him to raise his prices.
“I’m really tired of the idea that if you’re in this party you have to be loyal to this party, but if you’re in this party you have to be loyal to this party,” he said. “There are big problems and neither side seems capable of solving them.”
Meanwhile, 55% of registered voters believe the Republican Party is “too extreme.” Some 45% say the same about the Democratic Party.
Democrats are divided on the path forward for their party
Overall, voters don’t see an abundance of moderate sentiment in either party. But they are more likely to say Democrats are “too moderate” than Republicans — a reflection of the lack of unity within the Democratic Party on its strategy.
Just under half of Democratic voters say their party is “too moderate,” while a similar share says it’s “about right.” This stands in stark contrast to Republican voters, who mostly say their party is “about right.”
Voters such as Meagan Ludwig of Milwaukee illustrate the party discontent that has emerged this year in Wisconsin and other hotly contested states.
Ludwig, a 41-year-old real estate broker, voted for democratic socialist Francesca Hong in the Democratic primary for governor in August, arguing that the candidate seemed more committed to a policy agenda aimed at helping working families than Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley.
Crowley won the primary by half a percentage point — about 3,800 votes — illustrating Democrats’ soul-searching in the Upper Midwest swing state.
In the November general election, Ludwig is “reluctant”, but considers voting for Crowley rather than Republican. Tom Tiffany, a member of Congress. Ludwig hopes that Crowley, if elected, will sense the discontent with his party.
“We must seize the opportunity to boldly enact policies that will improve the lives of Americans,” said Ludwig, who is married with an elementary school-aged child. “I’m tired of us looking for incremental change.”
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Beaumont reported from Des Moines, Iowa.
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The AP-NORC poll of 2,140 adults, including 1,766 registered voters, was conducted Sept. 24-28 using a sample drawn from NORC’s AmeriSpeak probability panel, designed to be representative of the U.S. population. The margin of sampling error is plus or minus 2.9 percentage points for all adults and plus or minus 3.1 percentage points for registered voters.
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