(The Center Square) – Independent North Carolina voters crashed approval ratings of Democrats and Republicans in Congress and did little to help nominal drops in support for second-term Republican President Donald Trump in a new survey.
Registered Democrats and Republicans supported their senators and representatives while unaffiliated voters left the approval rate at 39% for Democrats and 38% for Republicans, the poll said. North Carolina has two Republican senators, 10 Republican members of the House of Representatives, and four Democratic members of the House.
The sampling of 1,000 weighted responses was taken Jan. 13-22 by Catawba College’s Center for North Carolina Politics & Public Service in conjunction with pollster YouGov. The margin of error is +/- 3.69%.
First-term Democratic Gov. Josh Stein earned a 53% approval rating to 28% disapprove.
Second-term Republican President Donald Trump’s handling of immigration was 43%-43% in confidence or no confidence. On the matters of money, confidence in Trump was 38% (46% not confident) for “handling of the overall economy”; 38% confident (47% not confident) in “handling of tariffs and being imposed against other nations”; and 38% confident (49% not confident) in “handling of inflation and cost of living.”
“After one year in office, Trump’s ratings continue in line with the past two Catawba-YouGov surveys,” said Dr. Michael Bitzer, professor of politics and history and director of the Center for North Carolina Politics & Public Service, which wrote and paid for the survey administered by YouGov. “While majorities of self-identified Democratic and independent North Carolinians continue to disapprove of the president, Republican North Carolinians have slightly softened their support.
“In the last survey done in October 2025, strong approval among Republicans was at 62%, with only a quarter ‘somewhat’ approving of him. Now, 56% of Republicans ‘strongly’ support the president, with nearly a third being ‘somewhat’ supportive.’”
The Center for North Carolina Politics & Public Service bills itself as “dedicated to enriching civic dialogue, deepening understanding, and fostering engagement within North Carolina. Through non-partisan initiatives, the center promotes the ideals of public service, civic character and engagement, and informed citizenship across the state.”
