By LINLEY SANDERS, JOSH BOAK, and AMELIA THOMSON-DEVEAUX, Related Press
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump wasn’t on the poll in Tuesday’s elections, however many citizens in key races made their alternative in opposition to him or thought of him to be irrelevant, in line with the AP Voter Ballot.
It was hardly an endorsement of his almost 10 months again within the White Home.
That theme performed out within the governor races in New Jersey and Virginia, the mayoral contest in New York Metropolis and a state proposition to redraw congressional districts in California.
The AP Voter Ballot, which surveyed greater than 17,000 voters in these locations, discovered that almost all voters disapproved of Trump’s efficiency as president, and plenty of thought his aggressive method to immigration had “gone too far.” Republicans and people who lean towards the Republican Occasion have been extra more likely to say Trump wasn’t an element for his or her vote, though most approve of his job efficiency.
Few solid a vote to help Trump, whereas extra wished to oppose him
Most presidents fare poorly within the off-cycle elections that come a 12 months after their White Home wins, and Trump match solidly into that sample as Democrats boasted victories in Tuesday’s key races.
In each Virginia and New Jersey, barely fewer than half of voters mentioned Trump was “not an element” of their respective votes for governor. Beside some social media posts and tele-rallies Monday night time, Trump did little to assist Republican candidates in these states.
About 6 in 10 voters in New York Metropolis’s mayoral race mentioned Trump didn’t play a task of their resolution. That’s regardless of his risk to withdraw federal funding if Democratic nominee Zohran Mamdani gained, and his social media endorsement of Andrew Cuomo, the previous New York governor. New York Metropolis voters picked Mamdani to be their subsequent mayor, organising a doable showdown with the Trump administration.
For many who did determine Trump as an element, it was to his drawback.
Roughly 4 in 10 voters in New Jersey and Virginia mentioned they have been casting ballots to oppose Trump. Fewer mentioned they have been voting to point out their help for the Republican president.
Trump weighed extra closely within the minds of California voters, who have been voting on a proposition to find out whether or not to redistrict the state’s congressional seats in favor of Democrats. The entire effort is designed to rebut Trump’s efforts to redraw congressional districts in Republican states with the precise objective of preserving the GOP Home majority in subsequent 12 months’s midterm races.
Solely about 4 in 10 California voters mentioned Trump didn’t issue into their resolution. However about half mentioned they have been voting to object to Trump. Roughly 1 in 10 California voters mentioned they have been voting with help for him.
Voters largely disapproved of Trump, and plenty of solid ballots accordingly
Many citizens disapprove of how Trump has carried out since returning to the White Home in January. That could possibly be an issue for Republican candidates, as Trump has made loyalty to him a should for GOP candidates.
Solely about 4 in 10 voters throughout Virginia and New Jersey approve of how the president is dealing with his job. Approval was even decrease within the Democratic strongholds of California and New York Metropolis, the place near two-thirds of voters disapprove of his management to date.
Not surprisingly, the voters who have been likeliest to disapprove of him have been extra more likely to say they have been signaling their dislike of him when casting a poll. In the meantime, voters who like Trump’s job efficiency have been extra more likely to say the president wasn’t an element of their alternative.
Most Republican voters in Virginia and New Jersey authorized of Trump’s efficiency as president, however that didn’t imply they noticed him as a significant motivator. About 6 in 10 Republicans in each states mentioned Trump wasn’t an element of their vote.
Many citizens have been sad with Trump’s immigration method
In 2024, Trump capitalized on voters’ considerations about border crossings by immigrants with out authorized standing.
This 12 months, immigration fell far behind financial points for voters after they have been requested to consider what’s an important problem going through their state or metropolis. It wasn’t a prime concern for voters in any of the 4 states the place the AP Voter Ballot was carried out. The survey additionally discovered that many citizens have been sad with Trump’s aggressive method on deportations and arrests of immigrants believed to be within the nation illegally.
Voters in California, New Jersey, New York Metropolis and Virginia have been extra more likely to say that the Trump administration’s actions on immigration enforcement had “gone too far” than “been about proper” or “not gone far sufficient.”
However voters in Virginia and New Jersey have been about evenly cut up on whether or not their subsequent governor ought to cooperate with the Trump administration on immigration enforcement.
Voters in New York Metropolis and California have been extra definitively opposed. About 6 in 10 voters in every place mentioned their leaders shouldn’t be cooperating with the White Home on immigration enforcement.
The 2025 AP Voter Ballot, carried out by SSRS from Oct. 22 – Nov. 4, contains consultant samples of registered voters in California (4,490), New Jersey (4,244), New York Metropolis (4,304) and Virginia (4,215). The AP Voter Ballot combines knowledge collected from validated registered voters on-line and by phone, with knowledge collected in-person from election day voters at roughly 30 precincts per state or metropolis, excluding California. Respondents can full the ballot in English or Spanish. The general margin of sampling error for voters, accounting for design impact, is plus or minus 2.0 share factors in California, 2.1 share factors in New Jersey, 2.2 share factors in New York Metropolis, and a couple of.1 share factors in Virginia.
