Report: 2019 Was Good for Individuals, Bad for America

The December 2019 Daily Kos/Civiqs Poll asked 1,411 registered voters in the United States about President Trump, the ongoing impeachment inquiry, and the 2020 election.

A Year in Review

Most Americans think that 2019 went fairly well for them but poorly for the country as a whole.

Nearly half (42%) say that 2019 went better than expected for them personally. A third (29%) thought it went according to their expectations; 28% thought it went worse than expected. However, over half--54%--think that things have gotten worse for the country in the past year. Only about a third (38%) think things have improved nationwide.

Democrats and Republicans disagree about 2019 on both an individual and national level. Only 17% of Democrats think 2019 went better for them personally, compared to 70% of Republicans and 42% of Independents. Similarly, 4% of Democrats think that things nationwide have gotten better, compared to 76% of Republicans and 40% of Independents.

President Trump: Approval and Impeachment

A majority of Americans (54%) disapprove of the way Donald Trump is handling his job as president. Almost all of those people--nearly half of the country (48%)--say that not only do they oppose Trump now, but there is almost nothing that could happen to change that.

Many of Trump’s current supporters are open to the possibility of changing their minds in the future. About a third (30%) of Americans support President Trump and say there’s almost nothing that could change their stance. But, 14% of Americans--approximately one-third of Trump’s supporters--say that their attitudes could shift “if things change later.” Among Republicans, 67% say they are committed to their support of Trump, while 22% say that their minds could change. Frequent Fox News viewers are the most solid in their support for Trump: 76% don’t believe they will ever change; 19% currently support Trump but could change later.

A majority of Americans (53%) think that President Trump has committed an impeachable offense while in office. Half (50%) say that he should be impeached and removed from office. At the same time, only 42% of Americans think that the impeachment inquiry should be Congress’ top priority right now. Half of Americans (50%) want Congress to prioritize other issues.

The 2020 Presidential Election

If the 2020 presidential election were held today, 50% would vote for a generic Democratic candidate, versus 44% to re-elect President Trump. When offered the possibility of a different Republican president (if President Trump is impeached, resigns, or does not run for re-election), 46% of Americans still want a Democrat to become president, 44% would prefer President Trump to be re-elected, and 7% want a different Republican to be elected.

What Americans think will happen in the 2020 presidential election is different: Most people (53%) currently believe that President Trump will win re-election. Only a third (33%) of Americans expect a Democrat to win. A significant proportion of Democrats (19%) believe that President Trump will be re-elected in 2020.

Civiqs surveyed 1,411 registered voters in the United States from December 7-11, 2019. The survey was conducted online, among selected members of the Civiqs research panel. Sampled individuals were emailed by Civiqs and responded using a personalized link to the survey at civiqs.com. The survey results are weighted by age, race, gender, education, party identification, and region to be representative of the population of registered voters in the United States. The general design effect due to weighting is 1.08. The survey has a margin of error of ±2.7% at the 95% confidence level, accounting for the design effect.