[Anchor]

Because US midterm elections take place about halfway through a president's term, they strongly serve as an evaluation of governance thus far. Looking at previous polling results, President Trump's approval ratings have plummeted, leading to a prominent trend where the Democratic Party reaps indirect benefits.

Reporter Kim Young-a brings us the story.

[Reporter]

This is an NBC News poll released on November 1 local time, two days ahead of the election.

Favorability ratings by party showed that the Republican Party was 9 percentage points higher than the Democratic Party.

However, 52 percent of respondents said they hope the Democratic Party wins the vote, which is 7 percentage points higher than the 45 percent who favored a Republican victory.

The reason for these mixed choices is Trump.

[Donald Trump / US President: I am asking you, please vote as if I am running in this election.]

Yet, President Trump's approval rating is at its lowest level across both his first and second terms.

In a Reuters/Ipsos poll released yesterday, one day before the election, 64 percent of respondents stated they disapprove of President Trump's handling of the administration.

Only exactly half of that, 32 percent, expressed approval.

Consequently, a significant portion of Republican supporters have turned away, saying that even if they do not like the Democratic Party, they dislike Trump so much that they will vote Democratic.

In the 2018 midterm elections of Trump's first term, which saw a similar situation, the Democratic Party managed to increase its seats in the House of Representatives by 40.

[Larry Sabato / Director, Center for Politics at the University of Virginia: Because Trump's governance performance is so poor and his approval ratings are so low, it is highly likely that the Democratic Party will control both the House and the Senate.]

Following his withdrawal from the Paris Climate Accord and the WHO on January 20 of last year, his first day in office, President Trump shook up the global order by declaring trade wars regardless of allies and partners.

His aggressive immigration crackdowns and controversies over press suppression led to the undermining of democracy within the United States and heightened social conflicts.

Diplomatically, he pressured allies over Greenland, aid to Ukraine, and defense cost-sharing, causing friction, and also sparked legitimacy controversies in the international community by conducting a military operation in Venezuela and arresting President Maduro.

In particular, following his attack on Iranian nuclear facilities last year, he launched another airstrike against Iran in February of this year, plunging the United States into a war that has lasted for over eight months.

[Donald Trump / US President (February 28): Our objective is to protect the American people by eliminating the imminent threat from the Iranian regime, a vicious group.]

Ultimately, soaring oil prices caused by the blocking of the Strait of Hormuz due to the war with Iran have become the biggest Achilles' heel in this midterm election.

[Anthony / Ashburn, Virginia: It is all because of the war. The president needs to do something about this ridiculous situation.]

Projections indicate that the direction of public sentiment, angered by rising prices of daily necessities due to the tariff war and surging oil prices, will determine the victory or defeat of this election.

(Video Editing: Kim Byung-jik, Design: Dayoung Byun)