A Washington Post-ABC News-Ipsos survey found Democratic House candidates leading among registered and likely voters, while respondents expressed pessimism about the economy and concern over artificial intelligence.
The poll surveyed 2,545 U.S. adults from Oct. 9-13 using Ipsos’ KnowledgePanel. Among 2,032 registered and likely voters, 52% favored the Democratic candidate for their district’s House seat, compared with 44% who favored the Republican. In a separate question, 59% preferred a Democratic-controlled Congress as a check on President Donald Trump, while 35% wanted Republican control to support his agenda.
Three-quarters of respondents described the U.S. economy as poor or not so good, Ipsos reported. Nearly half, 48%, said they were worse off financially than when Trump took office in January 2025.
The same survey found that 57% viewed artificial intelligence as bad for society and 42% as good. On Trump’s handling of AI, 67% disapproved and 30% approved.
A separate survey by the Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research (AP-NORC), conducted Sept. 24-28 among 2,140 adults, found 64% thought AI was developing too quickly. That view was held by 76% of Democrats and 54% of Republicans. The Post-ABC-Ipsos poll asked about congressional preferences and views of AI; AP-NORC asked about the pace of AI development. The surveys do not establish whether AI content or a campaign dispute over White House renovations changed voting choices.
At an Oct. 24 rally in Cleveland, former President Barack Obama mocked the renovations with a comparison to the Cheesecake Factory. Trump returned to the joke at an Oct. 26 rally in Corinth, Mississippi, defending the restaurant chain as successful. EconoTimes previously covered Trump’s response to Obama’s renovation joke.
The New York Times reported Oct. 28 that Trump’s media mix included news clips and AI material, quoting an unnamed aide who called some of it “A.I. slop.” The Federal Election Commission lists Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2026, as the next regularly scheduled federal general election. All 435 House seats and a rotating third of the Senate are up for election.
