AJC/UGA poll: 55% of Georgians disapprove of the job President Trump is doing

ATLANTA — A newly released poll finds that President Donald Trump is having a harder time winning over some people in Georgia nearly two years into his second term.

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution and University of Georgia poll released on Monday shows that 55% of Georgians and 61% of independents disapprove of the job President Trump is doing so far.

Channel 2’s Richard Elliot spoke with a professor to learn more about how those stats could affect the midterms.

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With Trump’s polling, some Republican candidates are quietly trying to distance themselves from him while not alienating his base.

Republican candidate for governor Rick Jackson took the stage alongside Trump at a rally in Dalton on Friday. But he never mentioned the president during his speech.

The latest AJC/UGA poll shows 55% of Georgians approve of the job Trump is doing. Only 42% approve.

That number gets worse when you isolate all the independent voters. The poll shows 61% of independents disapprove of the president’s performance and of that, 54% strongly disapprove.

“It’s kind of a delicate dance for Republican candidates,” Emory University political science professor Zachary Peskowitz told Elliot.

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Peskowitz says the president’s low approval numbers could hurt Republican candidates who align closely with him and his agenda.

“I think it’s very challenging for Republican candidates to run in an environment where they’re part of a party brand with a leader, a president who’s relatively unpopular,” he said.

Trump still enjoys healthy poll numbers amongst Republican voters. The AJC/UGA poll shows 85% approval. But the challenge becomes getting those voters to the poll.

The AJC/UGA poll also showed Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp remains popular with a 70% approval rating.

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