USAupdated 1h ago2 min read
Archive photo · 9 August 2016CNN Voter Poll Finds 71% Say Congress Fails To Check President Donald Trump
“The rising cost of living weighed heavily on voters in the midterm election”
“Critics accuse U.S. President Donald Trump of mounting a fear-based campaign designed to intimidate voters”
Photo: Douglas W. Jones, CC0 · Cropped for layout
This article is an automated aggregation of coverage from news outlets. Our editorials offer in-depth analysis curated by the NewsCord team.
71% of voters say Congress does not adequately check President Trump. 65% say Trump's policies worsened economic conditions.
Save coverage image
Polls and economic blame
CNN’s Voter Poll preliminary national results showed 71% of voters saying Congress is not doing enough to check President Donald Trump, while the same early polling also found more than 4 in 10 voters saying their family situation is worse than it was two years ago. BBC’s live updates reported that 65% of voters said President Trump’s policies have worsened economic conditions in the US, while 28% said they improved conditions and only 8% said the president had no impact. CNN’s Voter Poll results also showed that roughly 9 in 10 voters said they were “very or somewhat concerned” about the cost of gas and diesel, and the poll tied that affordability pressure to the election.
CNN’s reporting said a gallon of gas cost $4.15 cents, on average, nationwide on Tuesday, compared with $2.98 a gallon price at the start of the war. CNN’s live updates added that the White House posted a proclamation declaring this week “Anti-Communism Week,” with President Donald Trump calling on Americans to “stand firm in their defense against any threat to the American way of life.”
Midterm voting disruptions
Ballot scanner problems disrupted voting in New York’s Westchester County, while officials said ballots were being secured and will be counted.
Technical issues caused delays in several North Carolina counties, and Pennsylvania voting hours were extended until 8:30 p.m. ET in three precincts after delayed openings.
The first polls had closed in parts of Indiana and Kentucky, and it described the close of an acrimonious midterm election as drawing near on Tuesday.
A technical problem with voting machines in Westchester County, outside New York City, led officials there to collect ballots by hand in a competitive House race.
The last polling places will not close until 1 a.m. Eastern on Wednesday, in Alaska, while it noted that in Florida flooding forced more than 20 polling stations across eight counties to be relocated.
Control of Congress at stake
House Democrats were bullish that they will take a comfortable majority in the House of Representatives tonight, and Democrats need a net gain of three seats to capture the House and four in the Senate.
Democrats are seeking to regain control of the House and Senate, where Republicans currently hold the majorities, and it repeated that Democrats need a net gain of just three seats to flip the House and four in the Senate.
Democrats are hoping they are on the precipice of major gains that will stymie Mr. Trump’s second-term agenda, and it said reclaiming the chamber will require Democrats to flip four Republican-held seats and defend all of their own.
Elon Musk contributed $474 million to Republican groups, candidates and their allies, more than any donor has ever spent in a single election cycle.
Pollsters SSRS would update the midterms voter poll through the night, while it noted that the early figures might change and that it did not yet have a breakdown by those voting Republican or Democrat.