AJC poll: Trump’s approval remains underwater in Georgia
DALTON — Inside an airport hangar Friday, President Donald Trump’s enduring hold on Georgia Republicans was unmistakable. Beyond the cheering crowd, though, the political picture is far more complicated.
A new Atlanta Journal-Constitution poll shows 55% of likely Georgia voters disapprove of Trump’s job performance, compared with 42% who approve.
It’s a sobering assessment of a president who narrowly captured the state in 2024 — and is making a late push for Republicans with another rally scheduled Saturday in Macon.
But perhaps the most striking finding in the poll, conducted by the University of Georgia’s School of Public and International Affairs, is how little has changed since he regained power.
Trump’s approval rating in April 2025 among Georgia voters stood at 43%, with 55% disapproving. Nearly 18 months later, after an escalating war against Iran, an aggressive immigration crackdown and a growing economic anxiety, those numbers are virtually the same. The new poll’s margin of error is plus or minus 3.1 percentage points.
And while Trump’s support hasn’t collapsed, it also hasn’t budged beyond the GOP base that helped fuel his slim 2024 victory in Georgia.
His mediocre approval ratings complicate the chances of Republican candidates who need Trump to energize their base but risk alienating swing voters by embracing him too closely.
Democrats are trying every way they can to tie their opponents directly to the president. And the intensity of the opposition is striking. Nearly half of Georgia voters strongly disapprove of his performance, almost twice the 25% who strongly approve.
AJC poll: October 2026
The AJC poll of 1,000 likely general election voters in Georgia was conducted via telephone by the University of Georgia’s School of Public and International Affairs Oct. 7-15. The margin of error is 3.1 percentage points.
Likely voters had cast a ballot in the 2022 general election and/or the 2024 general election and/or the 2026 statewide primary; who indicated they were currently registered to vote in Georgia; and who were definitely or probably going to vote in the 2026 general election.
AJC Poll Archive: See past polls of Georgia voters
The starkest warning signs come from self-described independents, the voters both parties are fighting to win during Georgia’s midterm elections. They overwhelmingly disapprove of Trump’s performance by a 61-31 margin, including 54% who strongly disapprove.
Those who identify as moderates are even more critical, with nearly three-quarters holding a negative view of his presidency.
And the generational divide is enormous: Nearly eight in 10 voters under 30 disapprove of Trump, compared with 43% of voters 65 and older.
The Trump dilemma
Yet Trump remains firmly entrenched within his own party.
About 85% of Republicans approve of his performance, virtually unchanged from earlier AJC polls since he recaptured the White House.
It’s a familiar contradiction in Georgia politics, where Trump has twice carried the state but also helped fuel bitter internal divisions that Democrats have exploited to fuel gains this decade.
U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff and former Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms, the nominee for governor, are relentlessly trying to make their Republican opponents answer for Trump’s record.
And it presents a challenge for Republican candidates who need Trump’s devoted supporters to show up in November without alienating the swing voters weary of his decade at the center of American politics.
That tension was on full display at Trump’s Friday rally.
Rick Jackson, the GOP nominee for governor, offered carefully measured praise for the president, focusing on his work involving foster children. U.S. Rep. Mike Collins, the GOP’s U.S. Senate nominee, pledged to have Trump’s back in Washington.
The contrast reflected the different approaches toward Trump as he urges supporters to “pretend” he’s on the ballot.
That message resonated with Sandy Holden, a Calhoun Republican who puts the president’s agenda at the center of her election plans.
“Obviously Trump’s not on the ballot, but we need to support this conservative movement,” said Holden, a 65-year-old retired nurse. “I really feel like our country is at a crossroads right now.”
A tale of two Republicans
Even as Trump struggles to broaden his appeal, Gov. Brian Kemp is preparing to leave office with some of his strongest approval ratings yet.
The two Republicans have spent years at odds, and Georgia voters are delivering sharply different verdicts on their leadership.
Some 70% of voters approve of Kemp’s performance after eight years as governor, compared with just 26% who disapprove.
That is a significant improvement from the 60% approval rating Kemp registered in an April 2025 AJC poll.
The split is even more pronounced among independents. While Trump draws approval from just 31% of those voters, Kemp gets positive reviews from 66%.
Nearly half of Democrats also approve of Kemp’s performance.
The split extends to how voters assess the direction of their state and country. Nearly six in 10 Georgians believe the nation is on the wrong track, a sentiment that has changed little since Trump returned to office.
But a majority, 52%, say Georgia is headed in the right direction.
Among independents, the contrast is particularly stark. Nearly seven in 10 say the country is on the wrong track, while just one-third say the same about Georgia.
An entrenched political divide
The poll suggests Trump’s strong support among Republicans doesn’t extend to all his policies.
While 85% of GOP voters approve of his job performance, just 60% support the war with Iran.
That reflects concerns that surfaced in AJC polling earlier this year, when the conflict divided voters along sharply partisan lines and raised questions about the economic toll it could exact on Georgians.
Albert Boozer, 75, has long supported Trump and continues to do so even amid the war in Iran.
“I absolutely put my faith in him to do what needs to be done,” he said.
“I’ll pay the gas,” he added. “I don’t like it.”
But Boozer expressed concerns about what the conflict might mean for Republicans’ prospects in the midterms. He thinks the war isn’t doing the party any favors.
“I’m afraid we’re going to lose the midterms because of some of it,” he said.