The poll, which surveyed 1,206 voters in 14 states — all with Senate races next year — found 49 percent approving of Trump’s conduct as president-elect. That’s higher than the number in national polls, which have included samples from bluer states. Depending on how the question was asked, anywhere from 56 percent to 61 percent of voters said that the Democratic senator up for reelection in 2018 should act as a “check and balance” on the incoming president. (The number was lower if voters were asked specifically if the senator should “block” Trump.)
“Even in states that Trump won handily, Democrats are in a good position,” said Neera Tanden, CAP’s president. “Eight years ago, if you asked this question, people were much more inclined to say that everyone should get along. Here, you’ve got people who voted for Trump but want Democrats to block or oppose his agenda. That seems to be a new thing for American politics.”
Trump’s persistent unpopularity, even in some blue states that he narrowly flipped last November, has perplexed progressives who did not expect to lose the election. CAP’s poll found voters in just four states that had voted for Clinton — Maine, Minnesota, New Jersey and Virginia — and weighted them with voters in states as red as North Dakota and West Virginia. Across the map, Trump enjoyed a narrow 45 percent-to-43 percent favorable rating; Democratic senators had a 47 percent-to-28 percent average rating. By 44 percent to 24 percent, more of the voters considered themselves conservative as considered themselves liberal.
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