Â鶹´«Ã½AV

skip to main content
Politics
Trump Job Approval 50% or Higher in 17 States in 2018
Politics

Trump Job Approval 50% or Higher in 17 States in 2018

by

Story Highlights

  • Job approval was below 40% in 16 states, 50% or higher in 17 states
  • Highest approval rating in West Virginia (62%), Wyoming (61%)
  • Lowest job approval in Hawaii (26%), Vermont (28%)

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- President Donald Trump's job approval rating varied widely across the U.S. states in 2018, with 17 states giving him ratings of 50% or higher, and 16 states giving him ratings below 40%. The states most approving of Trump were generally in the South and Mountain West areas of the country, while he fared most poorly in New England and on the West Coast.

Map. President Trump Job Approval by State, 2018. Divided into 50%+ approval, 40%-49% approval, less than 40% approval.

In 2017, Trump had approval of 50% or higher in 12 states -- five fewer than in 2018 -- and approval below 40% in 17 states -- one more than in 2018. Those shifts reflect the modest improvement this past year in his approval ratings nationally, from 38% in 2017 to 40% in 2018.

The five states that moved to 50% or higher job approval last year were Missouri, Kansas, South Carolina, Mississippi and Utah.

Results are based on combined data from the 2018 Â鶹´«Ã½AV tracking poll, encompassing interviews with more than 73,000 U.S. adults, including 500 or more in 38 states and 1,000 or more in 27 states. Each state sample has been weighted to match the demographic characteristics of that state's population to ensure it is representative of the state's residents. Full data for all 50 states are shown at the end of the article.

Although much can change between now and Election Day 2020, a job approval rating of 50% or higher would presumably put Trump in good position to win a state in the presidential election. The 17 states with 50%+ approval ratings account for a combined total of 102 electoral votes. In contrast, the states in which Trump has an approval rating below 40% account for 201 electoral votes.

In order to get to the 270 electoral votes needed to win the presidency, Trump would have to win all but one or two of the states in which his 2018 approval rating was between 41% and 49%. Some of the more challenging states to win from among this group, based on that approval rating, would be Texas (41%); Pennsylvania, Wisconsin and Michigan (all at 42%); and Arizona and Florida (43%). Trump won all of those states in 2016, and thus it is certainly possible that he can do so again. But he clearly has a lot of ground to make up in those states to get close enough to 50% that he can finish with more electoral votes nationwide than the Democratic candidate.

Trump's Ratings Best in West Virginia, Wyoming

West Virginia (62%) and Wyoming (61%) residents were most approving of Trump's performance in 2018 and were the only two states with ratings above 60%. South Dakota, North Dakota, Alaska, Mississippi and Alabama had the next-highest approval ratings for Trump, with Tennessee, Kentucky and Arkansas constituting the remainder of the top 10. All but Mississippi ranked among the top 10 states in 2017.

Highest Job Approval Ratings for President Trump, by State, 2018
  Approve
  %
West Virginia 62
Wyoming 61
South Dakota 58
North Dakota 58
Alaska 56
Mississippi 56
Alabama 55
Tennessee 54
Kentucky 53
Arkansas 53
Based on annual aggregate of Â鶹´«Ã½AV tracking data
Â鶹´«Ã½AV

Trump's job approval ratings were lowest in Hawaii (26%) and Vermont (28%), with California and Massachusetts (each at 29%) also below 30%. The remainder of the bottom 10 includes Maryland, New York, Illinois, New Jersey and New Hampshire, with three states (Rhode Island, Connecticut and Washington) tied for 10th lowest.

Lowest Job Approval Ratings for President Trump, by State, 2018
  Approve
  %
Hawaii 26
Vermont 28
Massachusetts 29
California 29
Maryland 31
New York 32
Illinois 35
New Jersey 35
New Hampshire 35
Rhode Island 36
Washington 36
Connecticut 36
Based on annual aggregate of Â鶹´«Ã½AV tracking data
Â鶹´«Ã½AV

The rank-order of Trump job approval in 2018 aligns with his performance in the 2016 presidential election. The states ranked first (West Virginia) through 30th (Texas) are the 30 states Trump won in 2016, while Trump lost every state ranked between 31st (a four-way tie between Oregon, Virginia, Nevada and Delaware) and 50th (Hawaii). Thus, it is unlikely Trump will win any states where his approval rating was not among the top 30 states in 2018.

Implications

Now that several Democratic politicians have announced their candidacies for the 2020 presidential election, the campaign gearing up. Trump's job approval ratings by state give a baseline estimate of how his re-election prospects stand from an Electoral College perspective. While his ratings in 17 states are high enough to suggest he has a good chance of winning those states in the presidential election next year, they tend to be smaller states and account for barely a third of the electoral votes he would need to win the presidency. A second Trump term will be won or lost in the larger states that he won in 2016 but had approval ratings in the low 40s in 2018. He cannot lose more than one or two of those states and still win the election, particularly because it appears unlikely that he would prevail in any state he did not win in 2016.

Increasing his approval rating by close to 10 percentage points in those key states seems like an uphill battle at this point, but several factors could make it possible. Recent polling suggests Trump's current job approval rating is already improved compared with where it was for much of 2018. If he can sustain those higher levels, presumably his approval ratings would be showing similar increases in most, if not all, states.

Second, differences in turnout by party could increase Trump's odds of winning in those states. For example, though Texas as a whole is relatively competitive in terms of party identification, Republicans continue to dominate in statewide elections there, perhaps because of lower participation among Hispanics. To the extent Republican voters in the key states participate at higher rates than Democratic voters, a Trump job approval rating in the mid- to high 40s may be enough to allow him to win those states.

Last, there are several examples when presidents who had nationwide approval ratings in the 40% range in the year before the election won a second term, including Ronald Reagan, Bill Clinton and Barack Obama. All managed to get to 50% approval by the time of the presidential election. Trump has yet to attain that level in his presidency, but he will have the next 20 months to get to there, and to make the case to Americans that he deserves a second term.

Explore President Trump's approval ratings and compare them with those of past presidents in the Â鶹´«Ã½AV Presidential Job Approval Center.

President Trump Job Approval by State, 2018
  Approve Disapprove N
  % %  
EAST  
Maine 37 61 412
New Hampshire 35 58 350
Vermont 28 69 249
Massachusetts 29 67 1,623
Rhode Island 36 60 298
Connecticut 36 59 927
New York 32 62 4,591
New Jersey 35 59 1,860
Pennsylvania 42 54 3,272
Maryland 31 65 1,337
Delaware 40 57 250
West Virginia 62 36 445
MIDWEST  
Ohio 48 48 2,629
Michigan 42 54 2,319
Indiana 48 47 1,575
Illinois 35 61 2,374
Wisconsin 42 53 1,447
Minnesota 39 57 1,507
Iowa 45 51 825
Missouri 52 43 1,532
North Dakota 58 36 241
South Dakota 58 41 303
Nebraska 49 47 507
Kansas 50 46 746
SOUTH  
Virginia 40 57 2,022
North Carolina 45 50 2,433
South Carolina 50 46 1,262
Georgia 44 52 2,214
Florida 43 51 4,709
Kentucky 53 43 1,124
Tennessee 54 41 1,692
Alabama 55 41 1,275
Mississippi 56 41 666
Arkansas 53 41 758
Louisiana 49 45 1,117
Oklahoma 51 44 1,073
Texas 41 52 5,898
WEST  
Montana 51 45 427
Arizona 43 52 948
Colorado 39 56 1,549
Idaho 51 44 591
Wyoming 61 36 286
Utah 50 45 952
Nevada 40 55 647
New Mexico 38 55 653
California 29 65 8,116
Oregon 40 56 1,316
Washington 36 59 1,980
Hawaii 26 69 301
Alaska 56 40 232
Based on annual aggregate of Â鶹´«Ã½AV tracking data. Samples for Alaska, Delaware, Hawaii, North Dakota, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Vermont and Wyoming were supplemented with data from 2018 Â鶹´«Ã½AV Poll Social Series data.
Â鶹´«Ã½AV

Editor's Note: The story has been updated to correct the sample size of national adults.


Â鶹´«Ã½AV /poll/247004/trump-job-approval-higher-states-2018.aspx
Â鶹´«Ã½AV World Headquarters, 901 F Street, Washington, D.C., 20001, U.S.A
+1 202.715.3030