A NEW POLL AND ‘THREATS TO DEMOCRACY’ A new survey from NBC News has some sobering results for Democrats who have been growing more optimistic in recent weeks about their prospects in November’s midterm elections. Voter unhappiness with the direction of the country is still high, and President Joe Biden’s job approval rating is still low. The broad themes of the poll are along the lines of what was discussed in last Friday’s newsletter, which had the headline, “Biden is still dragging his party down.”

But the part of the survey that seemed really striking was what appeared to be an extraordinary shift in voter priorities. The question was simple: What is the most important issue facing the country? This is how NBC’s Chuck Todd reported the answer: “For the first time ever,” Todd said, “when asked what is the most important issue facing this country, the top answer was not an economic issue. It was threats to democracy — higher than cost of living or jobs or guns or even abortion.”