Sanders for President

New Poll Shows Voters Dislike Trump More Than Ever

While voters continue to express disapproval with the leading candidates from both parties, a new Washington Post-ABC News poll out Wednesday revealed Republican nominee Donald Trump’s unfavorable rating surged to 70 percent, compared with a less damaging 55 percent unfavorable rating for Democrat Hillary Clinton.

Among registered voters, Trump’s unfavorable ratings far exceed Clinton’s—69 percent of 56 percent—representing a drastic change from last month, when the same poll found both candidates at 57 percent unfavorable. Trump lost ground among liberals, conservatives, Republican women, Democratic men, independents and white Americans without a college degree, the Post reports. Only 29 percent of voters have a favorable opinion of the Republican candidate.

Even among Republican voters, Trump is backsliding; 34 percent say they have an unfavorable view of their candidate, a reversal from last month when only 28 percent said they consider Trump unfavorable. The reversal comes in the aftermath of Trump’s racist attacks against a sitting U.S. federal judge of Mexican heritage, which Speaker Paul Ryan and other Republican leaders have publicly condemned in recent weeks. Eighty-nine percent of Hispanics hold an unfavorable view of Trump.

Clinton also reached new unfavorable heights among voters, with 55 percent saying they have an unfavorable view of the former Secretary of State, and 43 percent saying they have a favorable opinion of the candidate. Still, Clinton’s ratings have remained largely unchanged from last month despite receiving enough votes to clinch the nomination. Twenty-five percent of Democratic voters say they have an unfavorable opinion of Clinton. Her biggest obstacle to party unity continues to be young voters who’ve tended to support Democratic rival Bernie Sanders throughout the primaries—31 percent of voters under 50 have an unfavorable view of Clinton.

These numbers, collected primarily before Sunday’s terror attack at Pulse nightclub in Orlando (which will likely impact both candidate’s ratings) underscore many voter’s frustration with both candidates. Trump’s vitriol and Clinton’s pragmatism continue to fragment even their individual parties, as voters prepare to cast their ballots in a “lesser-of-two-evils” style come November.

Elizabeth Preza is an AlterNet staff writer focusing on politics, media and cultural criticism. Follow her on Twitter @lizacisms.