He said it eight times in his inaugural address and even called it the “most elusive of things in a democracy.”
But so far, President Joe Biden’s promise of “unity, unity” has been a dud, and, now, some of the most loyal elements of his political base are punishing him for blowing it.
Pollster Jonathan Zogby told us that women, Hispanics, and younger voters, which make up the core of the Democratic Party, have been falling off since earlier this year. And in his just-released unity pledge survey, he found the same thing happening.
Overall, just 38.3% believe that Biden has “done more to unite the country.” The rest said he has divided the country (48.5%) or don’t know (13.2%).
Those numbers, taken in May, are similar to his approval ratings, but it’s the crumbling of his base that Zogby has charted and found in his unity survey.
For example, among voters aged 18-29, his survey said that about 28% believe Biden has united the nation versus 55% who don’t.
With women, it was 37% unite and 47% divide. Among Hispanics, it was 39% unite and 46% divide.
Black people stuck with the president, but in depressing numbers, 55% unite and 28% divide.
“Over the last six months, we have seen in our polling evidence Biden is losing steam with major parts of his base, specifically, younger voters aged 18-29, women (both suburban and urban), and Hispanics. To make things worse, his numbers are also down with college-educated voters,” said Zogby’s analysis.
Zogby said that to help his case, Biden will have to step up his agenda to score well in the 2022 election and fend off potential challengers, such as California Gov. Gavin Newsom.
“While Biden has had some luck as of late, including signing a major piece of legislation in the Inflation Reduction Act, he has work to do if he is going to hit the campaign trail for Democrats. Besides the looming midterm election, Biden’s vulnerabilities might also present a chance for Democrats to trade in Biden for a fresher face, such as California Gov. Gavin Newsom, for 2024,” said Zogby.
