Exit Polls Show an Angry Electorate That Blames Trump for High Prices

The first exit polls of the 2026 midterm elections describe an electorate in a foul mood: angry about prices, doubtful about the economy and ready to use Congress as a check on President Donald Trump. The surveys, released on Tuesday evening as the first polls closed, give the earliest picture of who voted and why, hours before control of the House and the Senate is known.

The preliminary national results of CNN's Voter Poll found roughly three quarters of voters dissatisfied with the way things are going in the country, with around 4 in 10 calling themselves angry. Roughly 6 in 10 voters disapprove of Trump's job performance, and about half of all voters say they disapprove strongly. About one fifth of voters who backed Trump in 2024 now disapprove of his performance.

The economy runs through nearly every answer. Around three quarters of voters call economic conditions bad, and roughly 9 in 10 say the cost of living was a deciding or major factor in how they voted. Around two thirds say Trump has worsened economic conditions in the country, and most of them blame his policies directly for higher costs rather than factors outside his control. Asked to pick the most important issue facing the country, voters put the economy first and the state of democracy second. Few picked immigration, health care, foreign policy or crime.

Two more polls, the same mood

The NBC News Exit Poll put numbers on the same mood. It found 39 percent of voters named the economy as the top issue facing the country and 32 percent named the state of democracy. Forty three percent said part of their vote was meant to express opposition to Trump, up from 30 percent in the 2018 midterms. Forty four percent said their finances are worse than they were two years ago, when Trump returned to office, and just 18 percent said they are better off.

The Voter Poll conducted for the Associated Press and the major television networks, a survey of more than 79,000 voters, found almost two thirds of voters said inflation had risen more because of Trump's policies than because of factors outside his control. About 4 in 10 voters in that survey called the economy their top issue and about one third named the state of democracy. Almost two thirds said Trump's tariff policies have hurt the economy, and about 6 in 10 said the United States made the wrong decision in taking military action against Iran. Early results also found about 70 percent of voters want Congress to do more to check the president.

The unhappiness does not stop at the White House

Most voters say the administration has gone too far on immigration enforcement, the CNN poll found. Views of Congress and the Supreme Court are negative, and both parties are viewed unfavorably, the Republicans more deeply than the Democrats. Democrats hold a slight edge over Republicans on trust to handle the economy, while roughly one fifth of voters say they trust neither party. Most voters expect life for the next generation to be worse than life today, and only about one third say the economic system is fair to most Americans.

Exit polls are estimates, not results. CNN's Voter Poll, conducted by SSRS from October 19 to November 3, is expected to cover about 100,000 voters nationwide, with a margin of error of 0.6 percentage points. The early numbers have not yet been adjusted to match the final results, and the picture can shift as more interviews are added. What the surveys cannot show is the outcome itself. That depends on the count now under way in all 50 states.