Election takeaways: Young voters move away from the GOP, many voters driven by opposition to Trump

WASHINGTON: President Donald Trump has repeatedly encouraged voters to pretend he's on the ballot this Election Day. They appear to be taking his advice — and that's not a good thing for the Republican president or his party.

Early returns suggest major swings away from the GOP, even in Trump's adopted home state of Florida. Voters nationwide are in the mood for change, according to The AP Voter Poll, which found that roughly three-quarters of voters say they feel "angry" or "dissatisfied" with the way things are going in the country today.

Young voters in particular appear to have shifted dramatically away from the GOP after Trump made inroads with this group in 2024. And among the voters who had Trump in mind when they cast their vote, about twice as many wanted to express opposition to the Republican president as those who wanted to support him.

Most also blamed the Trump administration for high costs: about 6 in 10 say higher than usual prices are "more because of Trump's policies" rather than "more because of factors outside Trump's control."

Democrats are looking to win majorities in the House and Senate, which would curb Trump's power after he's faced few limits from a compliant Republican-controlled Congress. Several key governors' offices also are up for grabs.

It could be a difficult night for Trump's Republican Party, though the political map, not to mention a fresh round of gerrymandering, could limit Democratic gains.

Here are some takeaways from Tuesday's midterms:

Trump said: 'Pretend I'm on the ballot.' It's not going well.

The Republican president was trying to defy history, which shows that in almost every modern midterm election the party in the White House has lost seats in Congress — sometimes many of them.

Democrats certainly hope that's the case this year. The party is optimistic, given Trump's dismal approval ratings and voter concerns about the war with Iran and the surging price of gas and other daily necessities.

The AP Voter Poll suggests most voters are deeply unhappy with Trump, with roughly 6 in 10 saying they disapprove of how he's handling the presidency. About 70% of voters want Congress to provide more checks and balances on the president.

About 4 in 10 say the economy is the most important issue facing the country, while roughly 3 in 10 say the state of democracy is the top issue, according to the poll, well above the number who said the same about crime, healthcare and immigration.

Views of Trump's priorities more broadly were also mostly negative: About 6 in 10 voters said Trump places a higher priority on his personal interests than the country's interests.

Trump was betting that his base of white working-class voters — and an increased share of young people and voters of color — which fueled his presidential victory in 2024, could save his Republican allies if they show up in great numbers.

But things may not be going as he hoped.

The AP Voter Poll indicates a substantial shift in young people moving away from Republicans. Voters under 30 were about evenly split between Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris two years ago. But in this election, about 7 in 10 voters in that same age nationally say they supported the Democratic House candidate in their area.

Young voters only make up about 10% of the electorate, according to the poll, which limits the impact of the shift. But it nonetheless makes it harder for the GOP to win.

We're about to learn whether other elements of the Trump coalition are still strong enough to stave off a political beatdown. The answer will have huge implications for the midterms and the next presidential cycle.

Democrats gaining in bid to flip control of Congress

A party doesn't flip both chambers of Congress very often.

Since World War II, the House and Senate have flipped from one party to the other in the same midterm just three times: 1946, 1994 and 2006. The common thread when it does happen is an electorate clamoring for change or broad frustration with the sitting president.

This year has both, and Democrats are trying to capitalize on the opportunity.

In the fight for Senate control, Democrats got a big boost early in the night when Democratic former Gov. Roy Cooper won North Carolina's Senate contest, giving his party one of the minimum four flips it needs.

At the same time, Georgia Sen. Jon Ossoff and New Hampshire Democrat Chris Pappas won their respective states' high-profile Senate contests. Ossoff was once viewed as Democrats' most vulnerable incumbent and the only Democratic senator running in a state Trump won in 2024.

Republicans currently have a 53-47 advantage. To take control, Democrats must win states that Trump won. Among their targets beyond North Carolina: Ohio, Iowa, Kansas, Texas and Alaska.

Strategists in both parties believe Democrats are on track to win a majority in the House, where Republicans began the current Congress with a slim margin of 220-215.

Democrats are targeting more than 60 House districts, including many where Trump won by double digits. But between redistricting and the deep partisan divide between metropolitan and rural America, there simply aren't as many competitive races as there were in some previous years when the House flipped, including 2018, when Democrats netted 40 more seats.

The Democratic brand still needs work

While Trump's standing has cratered in 2026, Democrats' brand as a whole isn't much to brag about. That leaves the party's major factions — the progressive left flank and the liberal-to-moderate establishment — parsing Tuesday's outcomes to claim any advantage in Democrats' tug-of-war over party identity.

The party's moderate wing was having a good night early on as high-profile leaders like Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro and Maryland Gov. Wes Moore won reelection. Both are considered 2028 presidential prospects.

At the same time, Florida Democrat Angie Nixon, the only self-identified democratic socialist on a Senate ballot, was defeated, despite a much stronger-than-expected showing.

Still, the progressive movement would have a feather in its cap should Michigan Democratic Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed defeat Republican Mike Rogers in Michigan. El-Sayed is progressives' highest-profile candidate, although he does not identify as a DSA member nor is he endorsed by the organization.

It's one thing for New Yorkers to elect Zohran Mamdani, a democratic socialist, as mayor. It's quite another for an unabashed progressive like El-Sayed to carry a perennial battleground state that helped elect Trump twice.

The Democratic brand needs help no matter how well the party does on Tuesday.

The AP Voter Poll shows that about 6 in 10 voters have a "very" or "somewhat" unfavorable opinion of the Democratic Party, which is about the same as the Republican Party.