Republicans lost their lead on a generic congressional ballot, according to a new USA Today-Suffolk University poll, a red flag for the party ahead of this year’s midterm elections.
Republicans are currently projected to make gains in November’s election as President Joe Biden’s approval rating remains low, but the poll could be a sign those gains are not a foregone conclusion. Republicans need to net five House seats to win a majority, and one seat in the Senate.
The poll found Democrats leading Republicans on a generic ballot 39% to 37%, within the poll’s margin of error of 3.1 percentage points but a significant drop from Republicans’ 8-point lead in the same poll in November.
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But according to the poll, Republicans aren’t necessarily losing support in favor of Democrats — rather, a growing share of Republicans said they were undecided. The poll found undecided voters grew to 24%, up from 16% in November.
The poll found Biden’s approval rating at 40%, a separate red flag for Democrats seeking to maintain congressional majorities.
Voters are also conflicted regarding Biden’s Build Back Better Act, a sweeping social spending bill currently stalled in the Senate. The legislation includes key portions of Biden’s domestic agenda. The bill was passed by the House last year after months of negotiations between centrist and progressive Democrats. But Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin objected to the size and scope of the bill during those negotiations, and soon after the House-passed bill’s arrival in the Senate, Manchin said he could not support it. Democrats do not have enough votes for the bill to pass without Manchin’s support.
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The poll found 38% said the president should move on from the bill, while 34% want him to keep seeking to pass it. Another 21% said he should scale the bill back.
