Free Republic

(Reuters) - Outside the Morgan County fair in McConnelsville, in a rural swath of Ohio that fervently backed U.S. President Donald Trump in last year’s election, ticket seller John Wilson quietly counts off a handful of disappointments with the man he helped elect. The 70-year-old retired banker said he is unhappy with infighting and turnover in the White House. He does not like Trump’s penchant for traveling to his personal golf resorts. He wishes the president would do more to fix the healthcare system, and he worries that Trump might back down from his promise to force illegal immigrants out...

slide 20: Likely voters: Trump 39, Clinton 37, Johnson 7, Stein 2

More than 50 million Americans have not even STARTED their Christmas shopping yet and nearly half the country hasn't finished Despite early retailer promotions meant to entice shoppers, 54 million Americans or or 17 percent have not started holiday shopping about a week before Christmas - one percentage point less than last year, a recent poll found. The Reuters/Ipsos poll, conducted between December 14 to 18, also found that less than a third of shoppers had completely finished their shopping. The pace of sales is crucial to retailers who receive a substantial portion of business during November and December.

Republican support for U.S. presidential candidate Ted Cruz rose this week as voters keyed in on the senator from Texas as the top alternative to Donald Trump, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll on Friday.Cruz had the support of 17 percent of likely Republican voters, behind Donald Trump, who remained the front runner with support of 31 percent of respondents in the five-day rolling poll.Last week, Cruz had the support of 10 percent of likely Republican voters and was relatively even with Ben Carson and Marco Rubio.Cruz has been gaining momentum nationally this month after polls showed him overtaking Trump in...

Sometimes it’s tough to suss out bias in polling, I grant you. This is not one of those times. Reuters leads with a story about Barack Obama’s approval rating jumping back up to 50%: For the first time since early July, more Americans approve of the job President Barack Obama is doing than disapprove, according to a new Reuters/Ipsos poll that shows his approval rating now at 50 percent.The poll, taken March 8-11 on the heels of reports that 227,000 jobs were added to the U.S. economy in February, indicates that Obama’s rating has risen by 2 percentage points during...