President Joe Biden’s polling continues its downward spiral, matching the lowest approval rating of his administration this week, just seven months before the 2022 midterm elections.
And the White House’s inability to stem Biden’s bloodletting will have down-ballot implications for Democrats in November, potentially kneecapping the president during the second half of his term.
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Only one-third of adults approve of Biden, according to Quinnipiac University. A majority, 54%, of respondents disapproved of him. Another 13% did not have an opinion of the president more than a year after his inauguration.
Senate Republican campaigns spokesman T.W. Arrighi quipped after the poll’s release that “it’ll all be over soon” for Democrats. In particular, the National Republican Senatorial Committee has seized on Biden’s “catastrophic” Hispanic support, attributing the erosion to his “wasteful” spending proposals and weak immigration policies.
“When it rains, it pours — and Democrats are in the midst of a biblical-level hurricane,” Arrighi said. “There’s no sunlight in the distance, but November is right around the corner.”
Arrighi’s House Republican counterpart, Mike Berg, similarly alluded to the Democratic strategist who advised the party to brace for a “biblical disaster” this midterm cycle. Berg said the operative was “on to something.”
Although a third of adults approved of Biden, the number of registered voters, a more accurate barometer of midterm turnout, who agreed was not much better at 35%. Both data points mark the return of January’s enthusiasm before Russia invaded Ukraine.
“The heartbreaking images from 4,000 miles away leave Americans with a longing to do more — for those fleeing the Russian onslaught and for those staying to fight,” Quinnipiac pollster Tim Malloy said. “But the moral outrage stops at the water’s edge when it comes to committing the U.S. military to the fight.”
Quinnipiac has repeatedly found Biden’s job approval to be below 40% among registered voters since November. But even though it is the least flattering of the president, the poll is not an outlier. During the same time frame, ABC/Washington Post, Harvard University-Harris Insights & Analytics, Marist College, Monmouth University, and Suffolk University/USA Today researchers have yielded similar results. Marist, for example, found Biden’s approval was 39% in March, which erased his State of the Union recovery of 47% but equaled his February figure, the college’s lowest.
Hoping to counter the poll, Democrats moved forward with a campaign amplifying NRSC Chairman and Florida Sen. Rick Scott’s pitch to introduce a tax hike this week before Tax Day on April 18.
“Republicans have made clear that if they gain power, they’ll raise taxes for half of Americans,” Democratic National Committee spokeswoman Adonna Biel said. “While Mitch McConnell tries to hide his agenda from voters, his party is blowing the door wide open on their priorities.”
Biden is aware of the political reality right now, according to White House press secretary Jen Psaki. That includes the Ukraine war, which she said is “dominating the airwaves,” and a pandemic-upended economy. As part of the administration’s efforts to influence public opinion, Biden will keep hosting events focused on the economy, Psaki added.
“Our view is while the world needs to understand and see how he is leading on the war, the world also needs to see — or the country needs to see, I guess I should say — how he is continuing to lead on the economy,” she said.
Psaki did not concede that the Quinnipiac poll necessitated a political strategy “shift.” Instead, it indicated connecting with “our domestic audience” should be “a huge priority,” she contended.
“And his schedule tells the story of how much of a priority it is,” Psaki said.
Biden has increased his travel this month, visiting Iowa and North Carolina this week, in addition to a planned New Hampshire trip next week, before the midterm elections.
North Carolina has one toss-up House seat, as does Iowa, according to the Cook Political Report. North Carolina has a lean-Republican Senate seat, while New Hampshire’s leans Democratic. The contests will determine which party controls Congress or whether Democrats and Republicans will have to work together on Capitol Hill for the remaining two years of Biden’s term.
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Biden’s average job approval is 40%, and his disapproval is 52%, according to RealClearPolitics. FiveThirtyEight’s averages are slightly better, with 42% approval and 52% disapproval.
