GOP voters turned out to smack Trump, not support Dems

Among those polled, 38 percent of voters said Trump was a bigger factor in how they voted than the candidates, while just 11 percent said the candidates themselves were the bigger factor. Another 32 percent said both played an equal role.

Even among Republicans, 36 percent acknowledged that the elections reflected opinions on Trump, while 31 percent said both the president and the candidates were factors.

Additionally, NBC News exit polling found that 49 percent of voters identified as Democrats or said they lean Democratic, compared to 43 percent who identified as Republicans or said they lean Republican, regardless of how they voted in the midterms. Among those who identified as Republican, 7 percent voted for Democrats, compared to just 2 percent of Democrats who voted for Republicans.

The polling also found that 10 percent of voters who consider themselves to be conservative voted for Democrats.

Although Democrats gave the Republican Party a crushing blow in the midterms nationwide, their unfavorability remained high. However, only 52 percent of voters said they view the Democratic Party unfavorably, compared to 60 percent who said the same about Republicans.

Following the GOP’s midterm losses, Republicans have increasingly pointed fingers at one another, with many placing responsibility on Trump. The election saw Democrats make gains among voting groups that have traditionally supported Republicans, such as young men, who swung 35 points to the left. The Republican Party also lost most of its support among white men without college degrees.

"The country woke up that day and said, 'We're gonna vote against MAGA. We're gonna vote against Donald Trump. We're gonna send the Republican Party a message,'" political analyst JC Polanco told CBS News. "It's not what a lot of Democrats are thinking ... that somehow the American public said, 'The Democratic Party is the way to go.' That's not what happened."