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Hamilton Spectator
8 hours ago
- Politics
- Hamilton Spectator
It's the economy, estúpido: New Jersey governor's race tests Democrats' efforts to win back Latinos
NEWARK, N.J. (AP) — A congresswoman and former U.S. Navy helicopter pilot secured the endorsement of the highest-ranking Hispanic official in her state. A mayor highlighted his arrest by immigration officials. A congressman campaigned at a Latino supermarket. And another mayor decided to put his self-taught Spanish to use on the trail. The New Jersey gubernatorial primary has emerged as a crucial test for Democrats seeking to regain Latino support nationally. It highlights the challenges in traditionally blue areas where the party's loss of support among Hispanics in 2024 was even more pronounced than in battleground states. President Donald Trump slashed Democratic margins in New Jersey and New York, even flipping some heavily Latino towns he had lost by 30 and 50 percentage points in 2016. The Democratic primary for governor features an experienced field of current and former officeholders: U.S. Reps. Josh Gottheimer and Mikie Sherrill , Jersey City Mayor Steven Fulop , Newark Mayor Ras Baraka , New Jersey Education Association president and former Montclair Mayor Sean Spiller and former state Senate President Steve Sweeney . Although Trump made closing U.S. borders a central promise of his campaign, his economic message hit home with Latinos. More Hispanics saw inflation as the most important concern last fall than white voters, AP VoteCast showed. That lesson has been taken to heart in this year's campaign, with strategists, unions, organizers and politicians pivoting away from immigration and putting pocketbook concerns at the forefront of their appeals. 'At the end of the day, if you're worried about paying your bills and being safe at night, everything else is secondary,' Rep. Gottheimer said in an interview. 'I think that is front and center in the Latino community.' Warning signs for Democrats Laura Matos, a Democratic National Committee member from New Jersey and board member of Latina Civic Action, said the party is still finding its way with Hispanic voters, warning that support can't be taken for granted even when Democrats win most of it. While there was a big rightward swing among Hispanics in Texas and Florida in 2024, it was similarly pronounced in blue states like New Jersey and New York. Here, 43% of Latino voters supported Trump, up from 28% in 2020. In New York, 36% of Latino voters supported Trump, up from 25% in 2020, according to AP VoteCast. Understanding that all Latino voters don't think or vote alike helps. Compared to the 2020 election, Trump gained significantly with Dominican voters, where he went from 31% to 43% of support. Of the 2 million Latinos in New Jersey, more than 375,000 are Dominican, making up the second largest Hispanic group in New Jersey, after Puerto Ricans, a group where Trump also increased his support from 31% to 39%, the survey showed. But sometimes candidates overthink such targeted appeals. 'The November election results in parts of New Jersey should serve as a big warning sign that Democrats need to think about how they're communicating with some of these voters,' Matos said. Sherrill's campaign manager acknowledged in a memo to supporters last month that 'there is a real risk of a Republican winning in November.' New Jersey tilts Democratic in presidential and Senate elections, but Republicans have won the governorship in recent decades. Focusing on the economy Strategists, organizers, union leaders and some candidates agree that what they are hearing from Latinos is consistent with the concerns of other working class voters. Ana Maria Hill, of Colombian and Mexican descent, is the New Jersey state director of the Service Employees International Union Local 32BJ, where half of the members are Hispanic. Hill says raising the minimum wage and imposing new regulations to cap rent increases are popular among those she has been calling to support Newark Mayor Baraka. She says Democrats lost ground by not acknowledging real-world struggles that hit Latinos hard after inflation spiked following the pandemic. 'I think where we lost voters last year was when workers asked 'What's going on with the economy?' We said 'the economy is great.' And it could be true, but it's also true that eggs cost $10, right? It's also true that a gallon of milk costs $6.' Taking that lesson to heart, Gottheimer held a press conference at a Latino supermarket in Elizabeth, a vibrant Latino hub south of Newark, against a backdrop of bottles of a corn oil used in many Hispanic kitchens. Sherrill headed to a Colombian restaurant, also in Elizabeth, on Saturday for a 'Get Out the Vote' rally. One of her advisers, Patricia Campos-Medina, a labor activist who ran for the U.S. Senate last year, said candidates who visit Latino businesses and talk about the economic challenges the way Sherrill has done show they get it. 'She has a message that covers a lot of big issues. But when it comes to Latinos, we've been focusing on the economy, affordable housing, transportation, and small business growth,' Campos-Medina said. When state Senate Majority Leader M. Teresa Ruiz, the state's highest-ranking Hispanic official, endorsed Sherrill last week, she cited her advocacy for affordable child care directly, for instance. A candidate's arrest Trump's four months in office have been defined by his aggressive crackdown on illegal immigration. That gave Baraka a chance to seize the spotlight on a non-economic issue as an advocate for immigrant residents in Newark. He was arrested while trying to join an oversight tour of a 1,000-bed immigrant detention center. A trespass charge was later dropped, but he sued interim U.S. Attorney Alina Habba over the dropped prosecution last week. 'I think all this stuff is designed to be a distraction,' he said recently. 'But I also think that us not responding is consent. Our silence is consent. If we continue to allow these people to do these things and get away with it, right, they will continue to do them over and over and over again.' In one of his final campaign ads in Spanish, he used footage from the arrest and the demonstrations to cast himself as a reluctant warrior, with text over the images saying he is 'El Único,' Spanish for 'the only one,' who confronts Trump. Confident Republicans Former state assemblyman Jack Ciattarelli is making his third bid for governor, and Trump's backing may help. But Chris Russell, a Ciattarelli campaign consult, said Democrats' habit of misreading of Latino voters might matter more. 'Democrats believe the key to winning these folks over is identity politics.' He added: 'They're missing the boat.' Ciattarelli faces four challengers for the GOP nomination in Tuesday's primary. During a telephone rally for Ciattarelli las week, Trump called New Jersey a 'high-tax, high-crime sanctuary state,' accusing local officials of not cooperating with federal immigration authorities. But Jersey City Mayor Steven Fulop, another contender for the Democratic nomination, said he is not entirely convinced the Democratic party will keep losing support in New Jersey. He thinks the gubernatorial race will be a referendum on current Gov. Phil Murphy. Immigration and the economy may enter some Hispanic voters' thinking, but how that plays out is anybody's guess. 'The Latino community is two things in New Jersey. It is growing significantly, and it is a jump ball. There's nobody that has an absolute inside track.' —- Gomez Licon reported from Fort Lauderdale, Fla. Error! Sorry, there was an error processing your request. There was a problem with the recaptcha. Please try again. You may unsubscribe at any time. By signing up, you agree to our terms of use and privacy policy . This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google privacy policy and terms of service apply. Want more of the latest from us? Sign up for more at our newsletter page .
Winnipeg Free Press
8 hours ago
- Politics
- Winnipeg Free Press
It's the economy, estúpido: New Jersey governor's race tests Democrats' efforts to win back Latinos
NEWARK, N.J. (AP) — A congresswoman and former U.S. Navy helicopter pilot secured the endorsement of the highest-ranking Hispanic official in her state. A mayor highlighted his arrest by immigration officials. A congressman campaigned at a Latino supermarket. And another mayor decided to put his self-taught Spanish to use on the trail. The New Jersey gubernatorial primary has emerged as a crucial test for Democrats seeking to regain Latino support nationally. It highlights the challenges in traditionally blue areas where the party's loss of support among Hispanics in 2024 was even more pronounced than in battleground states. President Donald Trump slashed Democratic margins in New Jersey and New York, even flipping some heavily Latino towns he had lost by 30 and 50 percentage points in 2016. The Democratic primary for governor features an experienced field of current and former officeholders: U.S. Reps. Josh Gottheimer and Mikie Sherrill, Jersey City Mayor Steven Fulop, Newark Mayor Ras Baraka, New Jersey Education Association president and former Montclair Mayor Sean Spiller and former state Senate President Steve Sweeney. Although Trump made closing U.S. borders a central promise of his campaign, his economic message hit home with Latinos. More Hispanics saw inflation as the most important concern last fall than white voters, AP VoteCast showed. That lesson has been taken to heart in this year's campaign, with strategists, unions, organizers and politicians pivoting away from immigration and putting pocketbook concerns at the forefront of their appeals. 'At the end of the day, if you're worried about paying your bills and being safe at night, everything else is secondary,' Rep. Gottheimer said in an interview. 'I think that is front and center in the Latino community.' Warning signs for Democrats Laura Matos, a Democratic National Committee member from New Jersey and board member of Latina Civic Action, said the party is still finding its way with Hispanic voters, warning that support can't be taken for granted even when Democrats win most of it. While there was a big rightward swing among Hispanics in Texas and Florida in 2024, it was similarly pronounced in blue states like New Jersey and New York. Here, 43% of Latino voters supported Trump, up from 28% in 2020. In New York, 36% of Latino voters supported Trump, up from 25% in 2020, according to AP VoteCast. Understanding that all Latino voters don't think or vote alike helps. Compared to the 2020 election, Trump gained significantly with Dominican voters, where he went from 31% to 43% of support. Of the 2 million Latinos in New Jersey, more than 375,000 are Dominican, making up the second largest Hispanic group in New Jersey, after Puerto Ricans, a group where Trump also increased his support from 31% to 39%, the survey showed. But sometimes candidates overthink such targeted appeals. 'The November election results in parts of New Jersey should serve as a big warning sign that Democrats need to think about how they're communicating with some of these voters,' Matos said. Sherrill's campaign manager acknowledged in a memo to supporters last month that 'there is a real risk of a Republican winning in November.' New Jersey tilts Democratic in presidential and Senate elections, but Republicans have won the governorship in recent decades. Focusing on the economy Strategists, organizers, union leaders and some candidates agree that what they are hearing from Latinos is consistent with the concerns of other working class voters. Ana Maria Hill, of Colombian and Mexican descent, is the New Jersey state director of the Service Employees International Union Local 32BJ, where half of the members are Hispanic. Hill says raising the minimum wage and imposing new regulations to cap rent increases are popular among those she has been calling to support Newark Mayor Baraka. She says Democrats lost ground by not acknowledging real-world struggles that hit Latinos hard after inflation spiked following the pandemic. 'I think where we lost voters last year was when workers asked 'What's going on with the economy?' We said 'the economy is great.' And it could be true, but it's also true that eggs cost $10, right? It's also true that a gallon of milk costs $6.' Taking that lesson to heart, Gottheimer held a press conference at a Latino supermarket in Elizabeth, a vibrant Latino hub south of Newark, against a backdrop of bottles of a corn oil used in many Hispanic kitchens. Sherrill headed to a Colombian restaurant, also in Elizabeth, on Saturday for a 'Get Out the Vote' rally. One of her advisers, Patricia Campos-Medina, a labor activist who ran for the U.S. Senate last year, said candidates who visit Latino businesses and talk about the economic challenges the way Sherrill has done show they get it. 'She has a message that covers a lot of big issues. But when it comes to Latinos, we've been focusing on the economy, affordable housing, transportation, and small business growth,' Campos-Medina said. When state Senate Majority Leader M. Teresa Ruiz, the state's highest-ranking Hispanic official, endorsed Sherrill last week, she cited her advocacy for affordable child care directly, for instance. A candidate's arrest Trump's four months in office have been defined by his aggressive crackdown on illegal immigration. That gave Baraka a chance to seize the spotlight on a non-economic issue as an advocate for immigrant residents in Newark. He was arrested while trying to join an oversight tour of a 1,000-bed immigrant detention center. A trespass charge was later dropped, but he sued interim U.S. Attorney Alina Habba over the dropped prosecution last week. 'I think all this stuff is designed to be a distraction,' he said recently. 'But I also think that us not responding is consent. Our silence is consent. If we continue to allow these people to do these things and get away with it, right, they will continue to do them over and over and over again.' In one of his final campaign ads in Spanish, he used footage from the arrest and the demonstrations to cast himself as a reluctant warrior, with text over the images saying he is 'El Único,' Spanish for 'the only one,' who confronts Trump. Confident Republicans Former state assemblyman Jack Ciattarelli is making his third bid for governor, and Trump's backing may help. But Chris Russell, a Ciattarelli campaign consult, said Democrats' habit of misreading of Latino voters might matter more. 'Democrats believe the key to winning these folks over is identity politics.' He added: 'They're missing the boat.' Ciattarelli faces four challengers for the GOP nomination in Tuesday's primary. During a telephone rally for Ciattarelli las week, Trump called New Jersey a 'high-tax, high-crime sanctuary state,' accusing local officials of not cooperating with federal immigration authorities. But Jersey City Mayor Steven Fulop, another contender for the Democratic nomination, said he is not entirely convinced the Democratic party will keep losing support in New Jersey. He thinks the gubernatorial race will be a referendum on current Gov. Phil Murphy. Immigration and the economy may enter some Hispanic voters' thinking, but how that plays out is anybody's guess. 'The Latino community is two things in New Jersey. It is growing significantly, and it is a jump ball. There's nobody that has an absolute inside track.' —- Gomez Licon reported from Fort Lauderdale, Fla.
San Francisco Chronicle
8 hours ago
- Politics
- San Francisco Chronicle
It's the economy, estúpido: New Jersey governor's race tests Democrats' efforts to win back Latinos
NEWARK, N.J. (AP) — A congresswoman and former U.S. Navy helicopter pilot secured the endorsement of the highest-ranking Hispanic official in her state. A mayor highlighted his arrest by immigration officials. A congressman campaigned at a Latino supermarket. And another mayor decided to put his self-taught Spanish to use on the trail. The New Jersey gubernatorial primary has emerged as a crucial test for Democrats seeking to regain Latino support nationally. It highlights the challenges in traditionally blue areas where the party's loss of support among Hispanics in 2024 was even more pronounced than in battleground states. President Donald Trump slashed Democratic margins in New Jersey and New York, even flipping some heavily Latino towns he had lost by 30 and 50 percentage points in 2016. The Democratic primary for governor features an experienced field of current and former officeholders: U.S. Reps. Josh Gottheimer and Mikie Sherrill, Jersey City Mayor Steven Fulop, Newark Mayor Ras Baraka, New Jersey Education Association president and former Montclair Mayor Sean Spiller and former state Senate President Steve Sweeney. Although Trump made closing U.S. borders a central promise of his campaign, his economic message hit home with Latinos. More Hispanics saw inflation as the most important concern last fall than white voters, AP VoteCast showed. That lesson has been taken to heart in this year's campaign, with strategists, unions, organizers and politicians pivoting away from immigration and putting pocketbook concerns at the forefront of their appeals. 'At the end of the day, if you're worried about paying your bills and being safe at night, everything else is secondary,' Rep. Gottheimer said in an interview. 'I think that is front and center in the Latino community.' Warning signs for Democrats Laura Matos, a Democratic National Committee member from New Jersey and board member of Latina Civic Action, said the party is still finding its way with Hispanic voters, warning that support can't be taken for granted even when Democrats win most of it. While there was a big rightward swing among Hispanics in Texas and Florida in 2024, it was similarly pronounced in blue states like New Jersey and New York. Here, 43% of Latino voters supported Trump, up from 28% in 2020. In New York, 36% of Latino voters supported Trump, up from 25% in 2020, according to AP VoteCast. Understanding that all Latino voters don't think or vote alike helps. Compared to the 2020 election, Trump gained significantly with Dominican voters, where he went from 31% to 43% of support. Of the 2 million Latinos in New Jersey, more than 375,000 are Dominican, making up the second largest Hispanic group in New Jersey, after Puerto Ricans, a group where Trump also increased his support from 31% to 39%, the survey showed. But sometimes candidates overthink such targeted appeals. 'The November election results in parts of New Jersey should serve as a big warning sign that Democrats need to think about how they're communicating with some of these voters,' Matos said. Sherrill's campaign manager acknowledged in a memo to supporters last month that 'there is a real risk of a Republican winning in November." New Jersey tilts Democratic in presidential and Senate elections, but Republicans have won the governorship in recent decades. Focusing on the economy Strategists, organizers, union leaders and some candidates agree that what they are hearing from Latinos is consistent with the concerns of other working class voters. Ana Maria Hill, of Colombian and Mexican descent, is the New Jersey state director of the Service Employees International Union Local 32BJ, where half of the members are Hispanic. Hill says raising the minimum wage and imposing new regulations to cap rent increases are popular among those she has been calling to support Newark Mayor Baraka. She says Democrats lost ground by not acknowledging real-world struggles that hit Latinos hard after inflation spiked following the pandemic. 'I think where we lost voters last year was when workers asked 'What's going on with the economy?' We said 'the economy is great.' And it could be true, but it's also true that eggs cost $10, right? It's also true that a gallon of milk costs $6.' Taking that lesson to heart, Gottheimer held a press conference at a Latino supermarket in Elizabeth, a vibrant Latino hub south of Newark, against a backdrop of bottles of a corn oil used in many Hispanic kitchens. Sherrill headed to a Colombian restaurant, also in Elizabeth, on Saturday for a 'Get Out the Vote' rally. One of her advisers, Patricia Campos-Medina, a labor activist who ran for the U.S. Senate last year, said candidates who visit Latino businesses and talk about the economic challenges the way Sherrill has done show they get it. 'She has a message that covers a lot of big issues. But when it comes to Latinos, we've been focusing on the economy, affordable housing, transportation, and small business growth,' Campos-Medina said. When state Senate Majority Leader M. Teresa Ruiz, the state's highest-ranking Hispanic official, endorsed Sherrill last week, she cited her advocacy for affordable child care directly, for instance. A candidate's arrest Trump's four months in office have been defined by his aggressive crackdown on illegal immigration. That gave Baraka a chance to seize the spotlight on a non-economic issue as an advocate for immigrant residents in Newark. He was arrested while trying to join an oversight tour of a 1,000-bed immigrant detention center. A trespass charge was later dropped, but he sued interim U.S. Attorney Alina Habba over the dropped prosecution last week. 'I think all this stuff is designed to be a distraction,' he said recently. 'But I also think that us not responding is consent. Our silence is consent. If we continue to allow these people to do these things and get away with it, right, they will continue to do them over and over and over again.' In one of his final campaign ads in Spanish, he used footage from the arrest and the demonstrations to cast himself as a reluctant warrior, with text over the images saying he is 'El Único,' Spanish for 'the only one,' who confronts Trump. Confident Republicans Former state assemblyman Jack Ciattarelli is making his third bid for governor, and Trump's backing may help. But Chris Russell, a Ciattarelli campaign consult, said Democrats' habit of misreading of Latino voters might matter more. 'Democrats believe the key to winning these folks over is identity politics.' He added: 'They're missing the boat.' Ciattarelli faces four challengers for the GOP nomination in Tuesday's primary. During a telephone rally for Ciattarelli las week, Trump called New Jersey a 'high-tax, high-crime sanctuary state," accusing local officials of not cooperating with federal immigration authorities. But Jersey City Mayor Steven Fulop, another contender for the Democratic nomination, said he is not entirely convinced the Democratic party will keep losing support in New Jersey. He thinks the gubernatorial race will be a referendum on current Gov. Phil Murphy. Immigration and the economy may enter some Hispanic voters' thinking, but how that plays out is anybody's guess. 'The Latino community is two things in New Jersey. It is growing significantly, and it is a jump ball. There's nobody that has an absolute inside track.' —-
13-05-2025
- Business
Democrats pivot to talk more about the economy and less about immigration
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. -- Democrats have long focused on immigration when courting Latino voters in states like Arizona, Nevada, New Jersey, and Florida, where generations of Mexican, Cuban and other Latin American immigrants have settled and gained permanent legal status. But Donald Trump's victory in the 2024 presidential election and the rightward shift of Latino voters have some liberals reconsidering traditional wisdom. 'People do care about it, but they don't vote on it. They vote on the economy,' said Patricia Campos-Medina, a labor activist who ran for the U.S. Senate last year in New Jersey and is now advising U.S. Rep. Mikie Sherrill, one of the Democrats running for governor in next month's primary. Liberal strategists, organizers and some politicians are urging Democrats to focus on the economy in this year's elections rather than on immigration. Some argue a broad economic message would be more effective with the wide range of nationalities and experiences in the Latino community rather than customized efforts based on perceived cultural or political interests. Last year, Trump, a Republican, made inroads in heavily Puerto Rican areas of eastern Pennsylvania and turned South Texas' Rio Grande Valley while improving his numbers along Florida's Interstate 4 corridor. His message to Latinos focused heavily on the economy and border security. 'Latino operatives have been saying, 'Don't treat us all as a monolith,'' said Tory Gavito, who co-founded Way to Win, a progressive group formed after Trump's 2016 win that recently conducted focus groups with Latinos who skipped the 2024 election. 'They were pretty monolithic.' Inflation was top of mind for nearly half of Latinos who voted last fall, according to AP VoteCast, a wide-ranging survey of the 2024 electorate. About three-quarters of Latino Trump voters were very concerned about housing costs in their community, compared with about 6 in 10 white Trump voters. 'Where we fell short was failing to fully appreciate the bread-and-butter economic issues that were driving them,' said Tom Perez, a former Democratic National Committee chair who served as adviser to President Joe Biden. 'Many folks felt like we were too focused on identity politics and not focused enough on the cost of eggs, the cost of gas, the cost of living.' Alex Berrios, co-founder of the organizing group Mi Vecino, which mobilizes Latino voters in Florida, Arizona and Maine, said Democrats focused too much on using buzzwords and trying to micro-target specific nationalities. The result, he argues, left voters feeling as though the party's message was staged. 'It's like they were saying, 'Let me get my Venezuelan script out,'' Berrios said. 'No. The first thing is just be relatable.' Chuck Rocha is a Democratic strategist who mobilized Latinos for U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders' presidential bid in 2020 and for U.S. Sen. Ruben Gallego last year and started a super political action committee, or PAC, to reach out to Latinos in key races. He argued that Democrats 'mess up by bringing a policy book to a boxing match.' 'It's about three things: affordability, affordability, affordability,' he said. 'Affordability is the only thing that they care about because that's what's hitting them in the face every day.' New Jersey's primary for governor is an early test of the different Democratic points of view. Last year, Trump flipped two Hispanic-majority towns that he had lost by more than 30 and 50 percentage points in 2016. Democrat Kamala Harris won a traditionally blue state by just 6 percentage points, the closest presidential contest there since 2004. Sherrill, who flipped a longtime Republican district in winning her House seat in 2018, has focused on her biography and her military service while also arguing she will stand up to Trump and billionaire adviser Elon Musk. One of her ads promises she will 'drive down costs from health care to housing.' Her campaign manager, Alex Ball, outlined during the weekend in a memo that one of its goals is meeting in person Hispanic voters from two suburban counties who have voted in three of the four past Democratic primaries. 'There is a real risk of a Republican winning in November, but Mikie is the candidate who can win just like she has won tough elections before, even driving out a long-time Republican incumbent in a Trump district — something no one thought was possible,' Ball wrote. Meanwhile, Newark Mayor Ras Baraka has frequently campaigned against U.S. immigration authorities' plans to open a detention facility in his city. The mayor was arrested by immigration authorities on Friday while demonstrating outside, with video of his detention and release spreading widely and leading to his competitors in the Democratic primary rallying to his side. A May AP-NORC poll found that 38% of Hispanic adults approve of Trump's handling of the economy, which is roughly in line with U.S. adults overall. But there's growing unease as Trump's plans to revive manufacturing and reshape the global economy have been rolled out with constant changes, creating uncertainty and sparking concerns of prices rising and products disappearing from shelves. From January through March, the economy shrank for the first time in three years as businesses were disrupted by Trump's trade wars. Trump fired thousands of federal workers, with impacts felt outside of Washington. The Libre Initiative, a Koch Network-affiliated conservative group, is running ads targeting Latinos in support of tax breaks approved during Trump's first term that may expire at year's end. Daniel Garza, president of the group, acknowledged 'nervousness' among Latino voters, with some wondering if maybe Trump took on too much and too fast. But Garza said that it's too soon to make a fair assessment of his second term, which began in January. He argues voters should wait and see how Trump negotiates trade and whether the Republican Party can pass his 'big, beautiful bill' with both tax breaks and spending cuts and promises he made such as exempting tips, overtime and Social Security from taxation. That is Spanish for 'We put up with a lot.'
Newsweek
02-05-2025
- Politics
- Newsweek
Donald Trump's Approval Rating Collapses With Rural Americans
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. Donald Trump's support among one of his most loyal constituencies — rural Americans — is showing signs of significant erosion. Why It Matters Rural voters have long been a cornerstone of Trump's base, and any slippage in their support could have major implications for future Republican success. A weakening grip on rural America not only threatens GOP margins in key battleground states but also signals broader cracks in the coalition Trump needs to push his second term agenda. What To Know The 2024 election saw Trump win 63 percent of rural voters, up from 60 percent in 2020, according to AP VoteCast. But a new PBS/NPR/Marist poll, conducted between April 21 and 23 among 1,439 adults, shows that Trump's support among rural voters is declining. According to the poll, just 46 percent of rural voters now approve of Trump's job performance, while 45 percent disapprove. In February, 59 percent approved and 37 percent disapproved. President Donald Trump gives a commencement address at the University of Alabama, Thursday, May 1, 2025, in Tuscaloosa, Ala. President Donald Trump gives a commencement address at the University of Alabama, Thursday, May 1, 2025, in Tuscaloosa, Ala. Manuel Balce Ceneta/AP Trump's approval rating has also declined slightly among urban, small city, and suburban voters. Among big city voters, his approval has dropped from 42 percent to 40 percent. Among small city voters, his approval has dropped from 42 percent to 36 percent. Meanwhile, among suburban voters, his approval rating has declined by 1 point to 40 percent. The only group that Trump has seen a rise in support from is small town voters, with 53 percent now approving of his job performance, up from 46 percent in February. The poll had a margin of error of ±3.3 percentage points. ActiVote's latest poll, conducted between March 31-April 29 among 576 voters, also showed a decline in support among rural voters for Trump. The poll showed that 49 percent approve of his job performance, while 46 percent disapprove. His approval is down 9 points since March, when 58 percent approved, and 15 points from January, when 64 percent approved. Meanwhile, his disapproval is up 6 points since March and 11 points since January. The poll had a margin of error of ±4.1 percentage points. The recent polling trend shows a consistent decline in Trump's approval ratings across multiple demographic groups. Newsweek's tracker shows that Trump's approval rating currently stands at 44 percent, while 52 percent disapprove, marking one of his lowest approval ratings to date. Other polls have also shown this trend. In the latest YouGov/Yahoo poll, conducted April 25-28 among 1,597 respondents, his approval dropped from 44 percent in March to 42 percent, while disapproval rose from 50 percent to 53 percent, widening his net negative from –6 to –11. The poll had a margin of error of ±2.9 percentage points. Emerson College also released a poll this week, which showed that Trump's approval rating had dropped marginally, from 47 percent to 45 percent, since March, while his disapproval rating remained the same at 45 percent. The most recent poll was conducted April 25-28 among 1,000 registered voters and had a margin of error of +/- 3 percentage points. Rural voters have long been a cornerstone of Trump's base, and any slippage in their support could have major implications for future Republican success. Rural voters have long been a cornerstone of Trump's base, and any slippage in their support could have major implications for future Republican success. Getty Trump also saw a drop in Navigator's latest poll, conducted between April 24-28 among 1,000 registered voters, which suggested 44 percent of Americans approve of Trump's performance as president, while 54 percent disapprove. That is down from a 48 percent approval rating in February and up from a 49 percent disapproval rating. Meanwhile, the latest CNN poll, conducted April 17-24 among 1,678 respondents, suggested that he had the lowest approval rating for any president after 100 days since Dwight D. Eisenhower and that Trump is now less popular than he was at the same point during his first term. Poll Date Approve Disapprove Rasmussen May 1 50 49 ActiVote March 31-April 29 45 51 YouGov/Yahoo April 25-28 42 53 Emerson College April 25-28 45 45 Economist/YouGov April 25-28 42 52 Ipsos/Reuters April 25-27 42 53 Morning Consult April 25-27 45 53 Navigator Research April 24-28 44 54 J.L. Partners April 23-28 45 55 Decision Desk/News Nation April 23-27 44 56 And in ActiVote's latest poll, Trump's approval rating stood at 45 percent, while 51 percent disapproved, giving the president a net approval of -6 points. ActiVote's March poll showed Trump with a net approval rating of -1 point, with 48 percent approving and 49 percent disapproving. Trump's approval ratings have declined since the announcement of his "Liberation Day" tariffs. The sweeping move roiled the markets, triggering an immediate sell-off that was followed by a rebound days later. Trump's handling of the tariffs has been met with mixed reactions, including increased public concern among rural voters. The PBS/NPR/Marist poll shows that 48 percent of rural voters disapprove of Trump's handling of the economy, compared to 45 percent who approve. And on the issue of tariffs, 49 percent think they will hurt the economy, compared to 39 percent who think they will help. Overall, 53 percent of rural voters disapprove of Trump's handling of tariffs, while 39 percent approve. Meanwhile, 57 percent said they expect grocery prices to rise over the next 6 months. Only 19 percent said they think prices will decrease, and 24 percent said they will stay the same. How Donald Trump's Approval Rating Compares to First Term The RealClearPolitics tracker showed that on May 2, 2017, Trump's approval rating was 43 percent, while his disapproval rating was 52 percent, giving him a net approval rating of -9 points, making Trump equally as unpopular now as the same point in his first stint in the Oval Office. However, other polls have shown that Trump is less popular now than he was at the same point during his first term. How Donald Trump's Approval Rating Compares to Joe Biden's Trump's 44 percent approval rating is lower than that of former President Joe Biden at the same point in his presidency. On May 2, 2021, Biden stood at 54 percent, with a disapproval rating of 42 percent, according to RealClearPolitics. While Trump began his second term with higher approval ratings than ever before, according to Gallup's first poll of Trump's second term, conducted between January 21 and 27, he was still less popular than any president since 1953 at the start of a term and the only one to begin with a sub-50 percent approval rating. Gallup said Biden started his first term with a 57 percent approval rating. And according to data compiled from Gallup by The American Presidency Project, Trump ranks far below other recently elected presidents after 100 days, dating back to Eisenhower, who had an approval rating of 73 percent. Other recently elected presidents saw higher approval ratings at the 100-day mark, including: John F. Kennedy 83 percent; Richard Nixon 62 percent; Jimmy Carter 63 percent; Ronald Reagan 68 percent; George H.W. Bush 56 percent; Bill Clinton 55 percent; George W. Bush 62 percent; and Barack Obama 65 percent. What Happens Next Trump's approval rating could fluctuate in the coming weeks, depending on the outcome of key events, including critical negotiations in the Russia-Ukraine war, the evolving tariff situation and concerns about a recession.
