More Americans approve of the impeachment investigation into President Donald Trump than disapprove, though only a third say the inquiry should be a top priority for Congress, according to a new poll.

That solid, if measured, support serves as a warning sign for Mr Trump’s White House and re-election campaign, which has insisted pursuing impeachment will damage the Democrats heading into 2020.

The Associated Press/NORC Centre for Public Affairs Research poll of 1,075 adults also presents some dangers for Democrats.

More people say House members are motivated mainly by politics rather than by duty as they investigate the Republican president’s dealings with Ukraine and whether he abused his office or compromised national security when he tried to pressure the country to dig up dirt on a political rival.

And assessments of the president’s performance generally have remained remarkably stable even as the investigation has rapidly unfolded.

Overall, 47pc said they support the impeachment inquiry, while 38pc disapprove. Like most assessments of Mr Trump and Washington, views of impeachment are starkly polarised.

A vast majority of Democrats approve of the inquiry, with 68pc strongly approving.

Among them is Sandra Shrewsbury (70) who lives in Greencastle, Indiana. She said that Mr Trump’s impeachment is long overdue.

“I am really concerned about our country if this does not stop,” she said of the president’s time in office.

She voiced concerns that he doesn’t have the temperament to be the nation’s commander in chief and is doing serious damage to the country’s global standing.

She was relieved, she said, that after months of hemming and hawing, impeachment proceedings were finally under way.

“I was getting very frustrated with Congress and those investigating because I felt like they were just dragging their heels,” she said. “I wish they’d stop worrying about getting re-elected themselves and get down to the business they’re supposed to be doing. We pay them to do this job.”

“They should have done it a long time, a way long time ago,” agreed Monica Galindo (32) from Camilla, Georgia.

It’s another story among Republicans, who overwhelmingly disapprove of the inquiry, including 67pc who do so strongly.

“I think its garbage,” said Sara Palmer (42), a staunch Trump supporter in Pocatello, Idaho.

She accused Democrats of wasting time and money trying to take down Mr Trump when there are far more important things they should be doing for the country.

“I mean, come on!” she said. “There’s nothing there. He didn’t do anything wrong” – a sentiment shared by a majority 64pc of Republicans.

A modest share think he did do something wrong. About a quarter, 28pc, think he did something unethical, while 8pc believe he broke the law.

Meanwhile, Democrat Beto O’Rourke dropped out of the crowded presidential race yesterday, saying it had become clear his campaign did not have the resources to continue to seek his party’s nomination.

“My service to the country will not be as a candidate or as the nominee. Acknowledging this now is in the best interests of those in the campaign; it is in the best interests of this party as we seek to unify around a nominee; and it is in the best interests of the country,” O’Rourke wrote in a post that he shared on Twitter.

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