US President Donald Trump's job approval ratings appear to be relatively stable with the midterm elections fast approaching, a new poll released on Wednesday finds.
The survey of 1,000 registered voters conducted October 16 and 17 for The Hill found that 46 percent of respondents said they approved of his performance, while 54 percent disapprove.
Those results reflect a minimal overall change from an earlier October 1-2 survey which found that 45 percent of registered voters approved while 55 percent disapproved.
"If you look at the numbers, he has a Trump base — not a Republican base — of about 32, 33 percent. And then you have another group that didn't like his persona but liked his policies of about 12 percent," Ed Goeas, a veteran GOP pollster, told The Hill on Wednesday.
According to Goeas, that smaller segment of lukewarm Trump supporters appears to have "locked in" its preference after Trump and congressional Republicans passed a tax cut bill.
The poll also showed that the president's ratings among women has improved.
The earlier study found that only 37 percent of female voters approved of Trump's job performance. It was conducted as the White House sought to fend off controversy surrounding Brett Kavanaugh, who was confirmed to the Supreme Court after facing accusations of sexual harassment and assault.
The most recent poll, however, found that 43 percent of women surveyed approved of Trump.
While Trump's standing among female voters improved, his rating among men declined compared to the previous study. 53 percent of male respondents approved of the president earlier in the month compared to 48 percent in the latest poll.
The midterm elections in the United States will be held on November 6.