This Washington Post-ABC News poll was conducted by telephone August 26-29, 2018, among a random national sample of 1,003 adults, including landline and cell phone respondents. Overall results have a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 3.5 percentage points. Sampling, data collection and tabulation by Abt Associates of Rockville, MD. *= less than 0.5 percent 1. Do you approve or disapprove of the way Donald Trump is handling his job as president? Do you feel that way strongly or somewhat? -------- Approve -------NET Strongly Somewhat 36 24 12 40 25 15 36 24 13 37 25 12 39 26 13 37 22 15 36 25 11 42 27 15 8/29/18 4/11/18 1/18/18 11/1/17 9/21/17 8/20/17 7/13/17 4/20/17 ------- Disapprove -----NET Somewhat Strongly 60 7 53 56 10 46 58 9 49 59 8 50 57 9 48 58 13 45 58 10 48 53 10 43 No opinion 4 4 5 4 4 5 6 5 2. Do you approve or disapprove of the way Trump is handling the economy? Do you feel that way strongly or somewhat? -------- Approve -------NET Strongly Somewhat 45 30 15 46 30 16 43 27 16 43 26 17 8/29/18 4/11/18 9/21/17 7/13/17 ------- Disapprove -----NET Somewhat Strongly 47 12 36 48 12 36 49 13 36 41 12 29 No opinion 8 6 8 16 3. (ASK IF REGISTERED TO VOTE) I'd like you to rate the chances that you will vote in the congressional election in November: Are you absolutely certain to vote, will you probably vote, are the chances 50-50, or less than that? 8/29/18 4/11/18 1/18/18 11/1/17 7/13/17 Certain to vote 75 67 62 62 66 RV RV RV RV RV Probably vote 13 13 17 19 17 Chances 50/50 9 13 14 14 11 Less than 50/50 2 5 5 3 4 Don’t think will vote (vol.) * 1 1 1 1 No opinion * 1 * * 1 Compare to: I'd like you to rate the chances that you will vote in the Congressional election the week after next: Are you absolutely certain to vote, will you probably vote, are the chances 50-50, or less than that? 10/26/14 10/12/14* 9/7/14 6/1/14 4/27/14 10/28/10 10/3/10 9/2/10 RV RV RV RV RV RV RV RV Certain to vote 59 63 71 74 68 64 70 70 Probably vote 15 15 16 12 15 13 15 14 Chances 50/50 11 15 9 9 12 11 9 14 Less than 50/50 7 5 2 4 4 5 5 1 Don't think will vote (vol.) 1 2 1 1 1 1 2 1 Already voted (vol.) 6 1 NA " 7 NA No op. * 0 * * * 0 * 0 7/11/10 RV 73 13 11 2 * 6/6/10 RV 72 14 11 3 * " 11/4/06 RV 70 11 7 4 2 5 10/22/06 RV 75 14 7 3 * 1 *10/12/14 "next month," 9/7/14 and previous "in November," except for 10/28/10 and 11/04/06 "next week's Congressional election" * 0 * 2 4. If the election for the U.S. House of Representatives were being held today, would you vote for (the Democratic candidate) or (the Republican candidate) in your congressional district? Would you lean toward the (Democratic candidate) or toward the (Republican candidate)? NET LEANED VOTE PREFERENCE – REG VOTERS 8/29/18 4/11/18 1/18/18 11/1/17 10/24/16 LV 10/13/16 5/19/16 10/26/14 10/12/14 9/7/14 6/1/14 4/27/14 3/2/14 1/23/14 12/15/13 10/20/13 5/19/13 10/28/10 10/3/10 9/2/10* 7/11/10 6/6/10 4/25/10 3/26/10 2/8/10 10/22/06 10/8/06 9/7/06 8/6/06 6/25/06 5/15/06 4/9/06 1/26/06 12/18/05 11/2/05 7/15/02 1/27/02** 9/6/00 7/23/00 2/27/00 10/31/99 9/2/99 3/14/99 2/14/99 1/30/99 Dem cand. 52 47 51 51 Rep cand. 38 43 39 40 47 48 45 47 46 46 47 45 46 45 47 48 48 49 47 45 46 47 48 48 45 54 54 50 52 52 52 55 54 51 52 47 43 49 46 45 50 48 50 48 49 46 42 45 44 44 44 45 44 45 46 45 40 40 44 43 47 47 44 43 44 48 41 41 42 39 39 40 40 38 41 37 46 50 42 45 46 43 44 41 41 39 Other (vol.) 1 1 1 1 1 1 * 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 2 1 1 1 * 2 1 1 * * * * * 1 1 * 1 1 1 1 NA Neither (vol.) 3 3 2 3 Would not vote (vol.) 0 * 1 1 No opinion 6 5 6 4 1 3 3 2 3 4 3 2 3 3 4 5 4 2 3 2 2 2 2 2 3 1 1 3 2 3 3 2 3 3 4 1 2 2 3 2 3 3 2 3 8 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 * 1 1 1 1 * 1 1 * 1 1 * * * 1 2 1 1 1 * 1 1 2 1 1 1 1 1 1 * 1 1 1 4 5 6 5 5 4 4 7 5 5 3 4 6 3 5 5 5 4 6 4 4 3 3 4 5 4 4 3 5 4 6 4 5 6 5 5 3 5 6 7 3 11/1/98 51 43 4 10/25/98 48 43 3 10/18/98 49 44 3 9/28/98 49 44 2 9/13/98 49 43 3 8/21/98 48 45 3 7/12/98 47 45 2 1/31/98 49 40 2 1/19/98 47 44 3 10/8/96 51 41 2 9/29/96 48 41 3 9/22/96 50 43 2 9/15/96 49 45 1 9/4/96 48 44 3 8/29/96 53 39 3 8/28/96 51 40 3 8/27/96 51 41 3 8/26/96 51 41 3 8/25/96 48 43 3 8/24/96 47 43 2 8/19/96 49 42 3 8/18/96 45 46 3 8/15/96 46 43 4 8/14/96 48 42 3 8/13/96 49 43 3 8/12/96 49 42 3 8/11/96 49 40 4 8/10/96 49 41 4 8/5/96 48 45 2 6/30/96 49 44 3 5/22/96 52 41 3 3/17/96 48 48 2 3/10/96 51 43 2 1/21/96 52 43 3 11/13/95 51 43 4 10/1/95 49 44 3 11/6/94 47 42 5 10/31/94 48 44 4 10/23/94 50 45 2 10/9/94 46 47 3 9/11/94 50 45 1 8/7/94 49 42 4 3/27/94 49 35 6 2/27/94 50 40 8 10/21/91 51 41 4 7/28/91 49 41 6 6/2/91 48 42 4 11/4/90 51 41 5 10/14/90 50 41 5 9/9/90 47 46 3 7/24/90 51 41 4 5/21/90 47 45 5 10/10/88 52 41 2 9/19/88 51 39 3 6/22/85 48 44 5 10/16/84 52 44 2 9/11/84 53 45 2 7/8/84 58 40 2 10/27/82 58 39 NA 10/11/82 55 36 9/13/82 58 36 11/22/81 53 41 " " *9/2/10 and previous: "Will not vote (vol.)" * 1 1 * 1 1 * 1 1 1 1 1 1 * 1 1 0 0 1 1 0 0 1 1 0 1 1 1 1 * 1 * * 1 * * 2 1 1 2 1 1 1 1 * * 1 * * * 1 1 1 1 * NA " 2 4 4 4 4 3 6 8 5 5 7 4 4 5 5 5 5 5 6 6 6 6 5 6 5 5 6 5 4 3 3 2 4 1 2 3 5 3 2 2 4 4 9 2 4 3 5 3 3 3 4 2 4 6 3 5 1 1 3 9 6 7 **1/27/02 and previous: No "other candidate" option recorded 5. (ASK IF REGISTERED TO VOTE) Compared with past midterm elections, is voting this year much more important to you, more important, the same, less important or much less important? 8/29/18 - More important Much NET more More 65 32 33 About the same 31 - Less important Much NET Less less 3 2 1 First year eligible (vol.) * No opinion * Compare to: Is voting this year more important to you than in past midterm elections, less important or about the same? 1/18/18 More important 54 Less important 1 First year eligible (vol.) 1 About the same 44 No opinion 1 6. (ASK IF REGISTERED TO VOTE) Is supporting a candidate who shares your opinion on [ITEM] important to you in the congressional election this fall, or not important? (IF IMPORTANT) Would you say it's extremely important to you, very important, or somewhat important? 8/29/18 - Summary Table a. Donald Trump b. Nancy Pelosi, the Democratic leader of the House --- More important --NET Extremely Very 59 33 26 -- Less important -NET Somewhat Not 40 12 28 34 59 14 20 16 43 Trend: a. Donald Trump 8/29/18 RV 4/11/18 RV --- More important --NET Extremely Very 59 33 26 52 31 21 -- Less important -NET Somewhat Not 40 12 28 47 14 33 No opinion 2 1 -- Less important -NET Somewhat Not 59 16 43 60 15 45 No opinion 7 5 b. Nancy Pelosi 8/29/18 RV 4/11/18 RV --- More important --NET Extremely Very 34 14 20 35 17 19 7. Do you think [ITEM] is in touch with the concerns of most people in the United States today, or is [it/he] out of touch? 8/29/18 - Summary Table a. Trump b. the Republican Party c. the Democratic Party In touch 34 31 40 Out of touch 63 63 51 No opinion 3 7 9 No op. 2 7 Trend: a. Trump 8/29/18 4/20/17 In touch 34 38 Out of touch 63 58 No opinion 3 4 Out of touch 49 46 No opinion 2 2 Compare to: Barack Obama 3/2/14 4/14/13 In touch 48 51 b. the Republican Party 8/29/18 4/20/17 3/2/14 4/14/13 In touch 31 32 28 23 Out of touch 63 62 68 70 No opinion 7 7 4 7 c. the Democratic Party 8/29/18 4/20/17 3/2/14 4/14/13 In touch 40 28 48 43 Out of touch 51 67 48 51 No opinion 9 6 4 6 8. Would you rather see the next Congress controlled by the (Democrats, to act as a check on Trump), or controlled by the (Republicans, to support Trump's agenda) 8/29/18 7/13/17 8/29/18 RV 7/13/17 RV Controlled by Democrats 60 53 Controlled by Republicans 31 35 No opinion 8 12 60 52 34 38 6 10 Compare to: Regardless of how you might vote in your own congressional district, do you think it's more important (to have the Democrats in charge of Congress, to help support Obama's policies), or (to have the Republicans in charge of Congress, to act as a check on Obama's policies)? 4/27/14 RV 9/2/10 RV 7/11/10 RV Dems in charge 39 39 43 Reps in charge 53 55 51 No opinion 8 6 6 Which statement comes closer to the way you think: Since the president is a Republican, we need (Republicans in charge of Congress to help support the president's agenda), or since the president is a Republican, we need (Democrats in charge of Congress to act as a check on the president and his agenda). 9/26/02 RV Dems in charge 55 Reps in charge 36 No difference (vol.) 6 No opinion 3 9. Just your best guess, if the Democrats took control of the U.S. House of Representatives, do you think they would or would not try to impeach Trump? 8/29/18 Would try to impeach 72 Would not try to impeach 19 No opinion 9 10. Since Trump took office, do you think the amount of corruption in Washington has (increased), (decreased) or stayed about the same? 8/29/18 Increased 45 Decreased 13 Stayed the same 39 No opinion 3 11. Would you describe the state of the nation's economy these days as excellent, good, not so good or poor? 8/29/18 1/18/18 1/15/17 3/29/15 1/15/15 10/26/14 9/7/14 4/27/14 3/2/14 10/20/13 9/29/12 RV 8/25/12 8/5/12* 5/20/12 2/4/12 11/3/11 7/17/11 6/5/11 1/16/11 10/28/10 10/3/10 9/2/10 7/11/10 6/6/10 1/16/09 9/22/08 4/13/08 2/1/08 12/9/07 11/1/07 4/15/07 12/11/06 10/22/06 10/8/06 3/5/06 1/26/06 12/18/05 11/2/05 9/11/05 6/5/05 4/24/05 ------ Positive -----NET Excellent Good 58 12 46 58 14 44 51 6 45 40 2 38 41 3 39 27 1 26 30 1 29 29 1 27 27 2 26 24 2 23 18 2 16 15 1 14 13 1 12 17 1 16 11 * 11 10 1 9 10 1 9 11 1 10 13 1 12 9 * 9 9 1 8 8 * 7 10 1 9 12 * 11 5 1 5 9 * 9 10 1 9 19 1 18 28 3 25 35 3 32 42 5 37 50 7 42 55 10 45 47 7 40 43 5 38 40 5 35 45 5 39 35 3 32 40 3 37 44 3 40 37 2 35 ------- Negative ------NET Not so good Poor 40 31 9 40 28 12 48 35 14 59 40 19 58 40 18 72 44 28 69 42 27 71 40 31 72 44 28 75 45 30 81 42 39 84 39 45 87 42 44 83 47 36 89 46 42 89 43 47 90 40 50 89 46 44 87 45 41 90 41 49 90 40 50 92 40 53 90 44 46 88 43 45 94 32 62 91 34 57 90 39 51 81 43 38 72 40 32 64 39 26 57 37 20 50 36 14 45 28 17 53 37 16 57 37 19 60 37 23 55 38 17 65 36 29 59 37 22 56 38 19 63 44 20 No opinion 2 2 1 1 1 1 1 1 * 1 * 1 * * * * * * * 1 * 0 0 0 * * * 0 * * * * * * * * * * 1 * * 9/26/04 RV 46 3 43 53 8/29/04 RV 45 3 41 55 7/25/04 46 4 42 53 6/20/04 45 4 41 55 4/18/04 43 4 39 57 3/7/04 39 2 37 60 1/18/04 42 3 39 58 12/21/03 42 4 39 57 10/29/03 33 1 32 67 9/13/03 30 2 27 70 8/11/03 32 2 30 68 4/30/03 35 1 34 64 2/9/03 28 1 27 72 1/20/03 25 1 25 74 12/15/02 35 1 33 65 11/4/02 LV 28 1 27 72 11/3/02 LV 27 1 26 72 11/2/02 LV 29 1 28 71 9/26/02 31 2 28 69 7/15/02 39 3 36 61 2/21/02 30 1 29 69 1/27/02 31 1 29 69 9/20/01 38 3 35 60 9/9/01 33 1 32 66 7/30/01 50 3 46 50 4/22/01 50 3 47 50 1/15/01 70 10 59 29 10/27/00 LV 86 24 61 14 10/26/00 LV 86 24 61 14 6/11/00 74 17 57 26 2/27/00 80 25 55 20 10/31/99 74 18 56 26 9/2/99 76 19 57 23 3/14/99 80 22 58 19 11/1/98 73 12 61 26 11/1/98 LV 78 13 65 22 10/13/97 61 12 49 39 *Washington Post-Kaiser Family Foundation 38 37 39 38 39 38 42 41 45 45 43 46 49 48 44 55 56 54 50 44 51 50 47 47 39 40 24 11 11 19 14 18 16 15 21 19 27 15 18 14 17 18 22 16 16 23 25 25 19 23 26 21 17 17 17 19 17 18 19 14 19 12 9 6 3 3 6 5 7 6 4 5 3 11 1 * * * * 1 0 1 * * * * * 1 1 1 1 * * 1 * * 2 * * * 1 * * * * 1 1 1 1 * * 12. Do you support or oppose Trump imposing tariffs on some goods that are made in other countries and imported to the United States? Do you feel that way strongly or somewhat? 8/29/18 -------- Support -------NET Strongly Somewhat 41 21 20 -------- Oppose --------NET Somewhat Strongly 50 17 32 No opinion 9 13. Trump has nominated Brett Kavanaugh to serve on the U.S. Supreme Court. Do you think the U.S. Senate should or should not confirm Kavanaugh’s nomination to the Supreme Court? Kavanaugh, 8/29/18 Gorsuch 2/12/17* Garland 3/26/16* Kagan, 7/11/10 Kagan, 6/6/10 Sotomayor, 7/18/09 Sotomayor, 6/21/09 Alito, 1/8/06 Alito, 12/18/05 Should 38 44 46 53 58 58 62 53 54 Should not 39 32 30 25 24 30 25 27 28 No opinion 23 24 24 22 18 11 13 20 19 Alito, 11/2/05 49 29 22 Miers, 10/10/05* 33 27 40 Roberts, 9/11/05** 55 26 19 Roberts, 8/28/05 57 22 20 Roberts, 7/21/05 59 23 17 Breyer, 5/15/94 52 10 37 Thomas, 10/14/91*** 59 28 14 Thomas, 10/13/91 56 29 15 Thomas, 10/12/91 50 29 20 Thomas, 10/9/91 47 23 30 Thomas, 10/8/91 50 25 24 Thomas, 9/15/91 63 24 14 Bork, 9/23/87**** 29 57 14 *Pew Research Center **as chief justice ***No opinion for Thomas includes "wait and see" (vol.) ****Harris, "All in all, if you had to say, do you think the U.S. Senate should confirm or turn down the nomination of Judge Robert Bork to be on the U.S. Supreme Court?" 14. Do you think Kavanaugh should or should not publicly state his position on abortion before being approved by the U.S. Senate for the job? Should Should not 8/29/18 59 31 6/6/10*** 54 42 8/28/05** 61 36 7/21/05** 64 34 6/15/03* 73 23 *"The next person nominated" **Roberts ***Kagan No opinion 10 5 3 2 4 15. Would you like to see the Supreme Court (make it harder to get an abortion than it is now), (make it easier to get an abortion than it is now), or (leave the ability to get an abortion the same as it is now)? 8/29/18 12/18/05 8/28/05 Harder 30 42 42 Easier 21 11 9 Same 45 45 47 No opinion 4 2 2 Compare to: Would you like to see the government and the courts (make it harder to get an abortion than it is now), (make it easier to get an abortion than it is now), or (leave the ability to get an abortion the same as it is now)? 1/20/03 Harder 42 Easier 15 Same 41 No opinion 2 16. Do you think Trump is (too harsh) in dealing with illegal immigration, (not tough enough) or is he dealing with the issue about right? 8/29/18 Too harsh 56 Not tough enough 11 About right 31 No opinion 3 17. If Democrats took control of the House, do you think they would be (too harsh) in dealing with illegal immigration, (not tough enough) or would they deal with the issue about right? 8/29/18 Too harsh 4 Not tough enough 43 About right 47 No opinion 7 Changing subjects… 18. Do you support or oppose the investigation of Trump and his associates by Special Counsel Robert Mueller? Do you feel that way strongly or somewhat? 8/29/18 -------- Support -------NET Strongly Somewhat 63 52 11 -------- Oppose --------NET Somewhat Strongly 29 9 20 No opinion 8 19. As far as you’re aware, do you think Trump has tried to interfere with Mueller’s investigation in a way that amounts to obstruction of justice, or not? 8/29/18 Tried to interfere 53 Did not try to interfere 35 No opinion 12 20. Mueller prosecuted Paul Manafort, Trump’s former campaign chairman, who was found guilty of tax and bank fraud by a jury last week. Do you think the case against Manafort was justified or unjustified? 8/29/18 Justified 67 Unjustified 17 No opinion 16 21. Would you support or oppose Trump giving Manafort a pardon? Do you feel that way strongly or somewhat? 8/29/18 -------- Support -------NET Strongly Somewhat 18 9 9 -------- Oppose --------NET Somewhat Strongly 66 13 53 No opinion 16 22. Trump has been critical of Attorney General Jeff Sessions for allowing the Mueller investigation to proceed. Sessions has said he's following the law. Whose side do you take on this, (Trump's) or (Sessions')? 8/29/18 Trump 23 Sessions 62 Neither (vol.) 5 No opinion 10 23. Do you think Trump should or should not fire Sessions from his job as attorney general? Do you feel this way strongly or somewhat? 8/29/18 ------- Should fire ----NET Strongly Somewhat 19 11 8 ---- Should not fire ---NET Somewhat Strongly 64 23 42 No opinion 17 24. Trump’s lawyer Michael Cohen pleaded guilty to fraud and illegal campaign finance charges last week. How much have you heard or read about this – a great deal, a good amount, just some, or a little or nothing? 8/29/18 --- Heard more ---Great Good NET deal amount 42 23 19 ----- Heard less ----Just Little or NET some nothing 58 25 32 No opinion * 25. Cohen said in court that Trump directed him to try to influence the 2016 election by arranging to pay off two women who said they had affairs with Trump. If he did direct Cohen to make these payments, do you think Trump committed a crime, or not? Committed a crime 61 8/29/18 Did not commit a crime 31 No opinion 9 26. Based on what you know, do you think Congress should or should not begin impeachment proceedings that could lead to Trump being removed from office? Do you feel that way strongly or somewhat? 8/29/18 ------ Should begin ----NET Strongly Somewhat 49 40 9 --- Should not begin ---NET Somewhat Strongly 46 13 33 No opinion 5 Party ID. Generally speaking, do you usually think of yourself as (a Democrat), (a Republican), an independent or what? 8/29/18 4/11/18 1/18/18 11/1/17 9/21/17 7/13/17 Democrat 33 32 31 31 31 35 Republican 25 25 23 23 23 23 Independent 37 35 40 38 36 35 Other (vol.) 3 5 4 6 6 6 No opinion 3 3 2 2 3 2 *** END *** METHODOLOGICAL DETAILS This poll was jointly sponsored and funded by The Washington Post and ABC News. The poll is a random sample of adults in the United States, with interviews in English and Spanish. This questionnaire was administered with the exact questions in the exact order as they appear in this document. Demographic questions are not shown. If a question was asked of a reduced base of the sample, a parenthetical preceding the question identifies the group asked. Phrases surrounded by parentheticals within questions indicate clauses that were randomly rotated for respondents. A dual frame landline and cell phone telephone sample was generated using Random Digit Dialing procedures by Survey Sampling International (SSI). Interviewers called landlines and cellular phone numbers, first requesting to speak with the youngest adult male or female at home. The final sample included 350 interviews completed on landlines and 653 interviews completed via cellular phones, including 422 interviews with adults in cell phone-only households. This survey uses statistical weighting procedures to account for deviations in the survey sample from known population characteristics, which helps correct for differential survey participation and random variation in samples. The overall adult sample is weighted to correct for differential probabilities of selection among individuals who are landline-only, cell phone-only or dual users. Results are also weighted match the demographic makeup of the population by sex, region, age, education and race/ethnicity according to the latest Current Population Survey Social and Economic Supplement. All error margins have been adjusted to account for the survey’s design effect, which is 1.3 for this survey. The design effect is a factor representing the survey’s deviation from a simple random sample and takes into account decreases in precision due to sample design and weighting procedures. Surveys that do not incorporate a design effect overstate their precision. Group All adults Registered voters Unweighted sample size 1,003 879 Error margin +/- 3.5 points 4 The Washington Post is a charter member of AAPOR’s Transparency Initiative, which recognizes organizations that disclose key methodological details on the research they produce. Contact polls@washpost.com for further information about how The Washington Post conducts polls.