Americans are showing a slight uptick in optimism over the country's direction, according to a new poll from The Wall Street Journal.
Although 61% say the country is headed in the wrong direction, that is a 9-point decrease compared to July, the Journal's survey found.
Less than 30% of respondents say the country is headed in the right direction, but that, too, is a 9-point increase from July.
The increase in voters saying the country is headed in the right direction has a lot to do with Democrats. Vice President Kamala Harris' entry into this year's presidential race has ushered in a wave of enthusiasm among party members.
The Journal's survey found a 13-point jump among Democrats who say the country is headed in the right direction, compared with early July, when President Joe Biden was the party's presidential nominee.
Gallup last week found a 14-point advantage for Democrats over Republicans when measuring which party's voters are more enthusiastic about voting. GOP voters had been ahead by 4 points in March.
While a majority of independents say the country is headed in the wrong direction, the share of independents saying the country is headed in the right direction rose by 9 points from early July, according to the Journal.
The Journal survey also found Republicans have closed ranks behind former President Donald Trump after he survived an assassination attempt in July.
"He's the best option," Pamela Evans, a 65-year-old registered Republican in Canton, Georgia, told the Journal. "It's not like I'm looking for a husband for my daughter. I'm looking for the best president for the country."
The economy remains a significant issue for voters, with nearly a third ranking it as their top priority, in a 13-point jump from July.
Only 39% of voters say the economy is excellent or good.
The Journal survey found 34% say the economy is improving, while 48% say it is getting worse. That is a slight improvement from early July, when 26% of voters said the economy was improving and 54% said it was getting worse.
The Wall Street Journal survey was conducted among 1,500 registered voters Aug. 24-28 by cellphone and landline phone, with some respondents offered the survey via text-to-web. The margin of error is plus or minus 2.5 percentage points.
Charlie McCarthy ✉
Charlie McCarthy, a writer/editor at Newsmax, has nearly 40 years of experience covering news, sports, and politics.
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