Most Americans say U.S. heading in the wrong direction, poll finds

By Brett Rowland
The Center Square

A new poll shows about 55% of registered voters think the U.S. is headed in the wrong direction, including 74% of Latino voters, a key demographic ahead of the U.S midterm elections.

The Center Square Voters’ Voice Poll, conducted by Noble Predictive Insights, surveyed 2,565 registered voters from Oct. 2-6, 2025, via opt-in online panel and text-to-web cell phone messages.

The poll found that 55% of registered voters said the country was headed in the wrong direction. Another 36% said things were going in the right direction, and 9% were unsure.

“You normally don’t see numbers this bad,” pollster Mike Noble told The Center Square. “I mean, people just don’t feel great about where we’re headed.”

Noble said more people were pessimistic about the nation’s future than optimistic.

“Half are pessimistic, with only one third optimistic, which is a little worrying,” he added.

Among Republicans, 61% said the U.S. was headed the right way and 27% said it was going in the wrong direction. Another 12% of registered Republicans were unsure.

Among Democrats, 13% said the U.S. was headed in the right direction, while 81% said it was headed in the wrong direction. Another 6% were unsure.

Among independents, 23% said the nation was going in the right direction and 63% said it was going in the wrong direction. About 14% of independents were unsure.

Broken down by race, Hispanic or Latino voters were most likely to see the country headed in the wrong direction. Among Hispanic and Latino voters, 74% said the country was going in the wrong direction. About 48% of white voters said the nation was headed in the wrong way. Among Black voters, that number was 66%.

Trump’s aggressive enforcement of immigration rules has been a hallmark of his second term in office. Trump won the presidency after campaigning heavily on his plans to address border issues. Since Trump returned to the White House, 2 million illegal aliens have left the U.S., including an estimated 1.6 million who have voluntarily self-deported and more than 400,000 deportations, according to a September report from the Department of Homeland Security.

The numbers in the latest Voters’ Voice Poll were similar to the same polling in April. At that time, 54% said the country was going in the wrong direction, while 35% said it was headed in the right direction and 11% were unsure.

The poll sample included 2,565 respondents, comprised of 978 Republicans, 948 Democrats, and 639 Independents, of which 262 lean toward neither major party, which Noble Predictive refers to as independents who, when asked if they leaned toward one of the major parties, chose neither.

The poll weighted each party – Republicans, Democrats, and True Independents – independently.

The margin of error is 2%.