Trump’s economic approval takes hit in battleground states: poll

President Trump’s economic approval numbers are declining in key battleground states and he trails a generic Democrat in the race for the White House, according to a poll conducted by Priorities USA, the nation’s largest Democratic super PAC.

The survey of Florida, Michigan, Nevada, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin finds a generic Democrat leading Trump 48 percent to 40 percent, with 11 percent undecided. Thirty-six percent said they would definitely vote for the Democrat, against only 26 percent who said they would definitely vote for Trump.

{mosads}Trump won all of those states except for Nevada in 2016, with Michigan, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania going for the Republican candidate for the first time in decades.

The Priorities USA model projects 278 Electoral College votes for the Democrat, with 259 going to Trump and one undecided Electoral College vote in Nebraska’s 2nd District.

A candidate needs 270 electoral votes to win the presidency.

The model finds Democrats rebuilding their blue wall in the Rust Belt by winning back Wisconsin, Michigan and Pennsylvania.

Still, Priorities USA Chairman Guy Cecil warned that Democrats have only a narrow lead in those battleground states and that if the election were held today, it would be very close.

“In almost every instance we are one state away from the reverse being true … we show an Electoral College projection that is tight,” Cecil said.

Perhaps the brightest spot in the poll for Democrats is Trump’s declining approval ratings on the economy.

Trump’s job approval on the economy shrunk from 55 percent positive and 45 percent negative in May to 52 percent positive and 48 percent negative in August.

The number of voters who said there are good jobs available in their area was nearly cut in half, going from 14 points positive in May to 8 points positive in August.

When survey respondents were asked whether they’re satisfied with current economic conditions, 36 percent said they’re dissatisfied, up from 32 percent in May.

Those negative trend lines for Trump hold true across the board, with an increase in respondents saying their income is falling behind the cost of living, that they haven’t benefited from Trump’s economic policies and that their family’s economic situation has worsened.

On trade, taxes and wages, a plurality of voters said Trump’s handling of those issues is a reason to elect someone else.

“By multiple measurements … we’re seeing declines in [Trump’s] economic numbers overall,” Cecil said.

Among undecided voters, Trump’s job approval rating is at 61 percent negative and 39 percent positive, according to the Priorities USA survey.

But among the chief concerns for Democrats are motivating young voters and African Americans, as the survey found a lack of enthusiasm among those key liberal voting blocs.

The survey found that 77 percent of Trump voters are highly enthusiastic about voting in 2020, with 75 percent of Democrats saying the same. But only 62 percent of African Americans and voters between the ages of 18 and 34 said they’re enthusiastic about voting in 2020.

“We have work to do among the Democratic base to do what we can to turn them out,” Cecil said.

The Priorities USA survey of 3,014 voters in five states was conducted between Aug. 13 and Aug. 25 and has a 1.8 percentage point margin of error. Forty-seven percent of those polled voted for Trump in 2016, 46 percent voted for Hillary Clinton and 7 percent voted for a third party.