President Donald Trump’s approval rating has declined again in North Carolina, a key swing state that he has won three times during his three presidential runs.
According to polling by Catawba College/YouGov, the President has a net approval rating of -9 percentage points in the state, the lowest it has fallen so far in his second term.
Why It Matters
North Carolina is an important swing state. It hasn’t voted for a Democrat in a presidential election since 2008 but Trump won the state in 2016, 2020 and 2024, and seven of its last eight gubernatorial contests have gone blue.
Maintaining the support of voters, therefore, will be important given Senate and House seats will be contested in the state in the upcoming midterm elections.
While voters will not make a decision about Trump at the polls, if they are turning on him they may also turn on the Republican Party more widely.
AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein, File
What To Know
The pollsters found that 54 percent disapprove of Trump while 45 percent approve of him.
This is a decline from a previous Catawba College/YouGov poll of 1,000 North Carolinians, conducted in July, which found that 50 percent disapproved of the president while 46 percent said they approved.
That was a decline too from March, when the pollsters found that 48 percent approved and 47 percent disapproved.
The latest poll of 1,000 people was conducted between August 11 and August 18 and had a margin of error of +/- 3.86 percentage points.
It also found that 60 percent of independents disapprove of Trump. Meanwhile, other groups falls along partisan lines. Some 87 percent of Republicans approve of the President compared to just 9 percent of Democrats.
What People Are Saying
Speaking to Newsweek, William F. Hall, adjunct professor of political science and business at Webster University in St. Louis, Missouri, said: “In my view, the steadily increasingly negative approval ratings being experienced by President Donald Trump being shown by recent polling results in North Carolina may well also be reflective of a potentially troubling widening, expanding and growing negative approval rating polling trend for President Trump’s performance and policies.
“Additionally, and perhaps, even more significantly, North Carolina, as a highly important swing state during the 2024 Elections, and potentially, for the 2026 elections, this steadily increasingly negative approval rating being reflected by President Trump in the polls does not appear to bode well for the potential for positive approval ratings or trends in the future for President Trump, other swing states or potentially, and perhaps more widely and even more significantly, the prospects for success in upcoming elections for the Republican Party.”
Dr. Michael Bitzer, director of the Center for North Carolina Politics & Public Service said: “In March 2025, President Trump’s approval and disapproval were nearly even at 49 percent to 47 percent. By June, Trump’s approval was 46 percent while disapproval rose to 50 percent, before climbing further in August to 54 percent.”
What Happens Next
Whether Trump improves his standing in North Carolina remains to be seen. As his presidency continues, his approval rating more generally will likely fluctuate in line with global events and his policies.
The midterm elections will take place in November 2026.
