A new poll in one of the nation’s top bellwether areas shows Trump’s popularity waning and Democrats staking out a lead in local elections — a warning sign for Republicans in the 2026 midterms. Via Politico:
Fifty-three percent of likely voters in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, view Trump unfavorably, compared to 42 percent who see him favorably, according to the survey by the Democratic firm Upswing Research & Strategy that was shared first with POLITICO.
Bucks County, a suburb of Philadelphia, is a perennial battleground targeted by candidates for president and statewide office. It was Bucks County where Trump made his famous appearance at a McDonald’s and manned a fry station in the 2024 election. Trump won it by less than 1 percentage point last year after former President Joe Biden narrowly carried it in 2020.
[…]“It’s clear that there is some backlash against Trump and MAGA Republicans generally,” said Ethan Smith, a founding partner at Upswing Research & Strategy. “The survey also shows that we’re probably entering a period of Democratic enthusiasm. We can tell just based on response rates that Democrats are really eager to participate in the election.”
[…] Upswing Research & Strategy conducted the poll on behalf of the Democratic PAC Bucks United, the coordinated campaign for the county party and local candidates for district attorney, sheriff and other row offices.
