Ipsos: Voters prefer Republicans to handle the economy, crime and immigration

Voters continue to trust the Republican Party to handle the economy, crime and immigration. So found a recent Ipsos poll, which was explained on CNN by data journalist Harry Enten. The Republican advantage was evident among both general voters and independents on key issues.

According to the poll, conducted ahead of the 2026 midterm elections, the GOP outperforms Democrats on issues sensitive to citizens. For example, it leads the Democrats by seven points on the economy, by thirteen points on immigration and by twenty-two points on crime management.

The advantage on these three topics is replicated with independents. Just by one point on the economy, by ten on immigration and by twenty-one on crime. "At this particular moment in time, it's the Republicans who have the lead on the most important issues," Enten said.

"If you win with independents, you win overall. And what do we see here among independents? Republicans still have an advantage on the economy. They have a ten-point lead on immigration. They have a twenty-one-point lead on crime. The bottom line is, when you look at these numbers, Democrats should be calling their offices because, at this particular moment, even if Republicans or even the public doesn't like what Donald Trump is doing, they don't necessarily like what the Democrats are doing either," the CNN journalist continued.

After explaining these numbers, Enten made a comparison with the 2022 midterms, in which Republicans regained the majority in the House of Representatives.

At that time, Republicans also had an advantage on all three key issues, although smaller on two of the three issues. On the economy alone, voter confidence in the GOP was higher in 2022, up 12 points. On crime (+13) and immigration (+3), the current advantage is higher.