Democrat President Joe Biden is no longer struggling to swim in competitive states for the upcoming midterms, he is sinking, and sinking fast.
A new Washington Post-ABC News poll released on Sunday found that if the midterms were held today, registered voters would vote for Republican candidates for Congress over the Democrat candidates for Congress by a staggering 10-point margin at 51% to 41%. The Washington Post called the findings a “historically strong result for Republicans.”
Overall, Biden’s approval rating is 12 points underwater, with only 41% of registered voters approving of the job that he has done as president while a dominant 53% disapproves of the job that he has done.
Many political pundits have already stated confidently that they believe Democrats will get blown out in the midterms in the House of Representatives, and while the 2022 U.S. Senate map did not look favorable for Republicans at the start of the Biden administration, the poll now suggests that Democrats could be in serious trouble in Senate races in competitive states.
The poll stated:
Evaluating survey results in just eight states expected to have the most competitive Senate races – four currently held by Democrats, four by Republicans – raises further hope for the GOP and risk for the Democratic Party.
In these states – Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Nevada, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin – Biden’s overall job approval rating is 33 percent, compared with 43 percent elsewhere. On his handling of the pandemic, his approval is 11 points lower than in the rest of the country.
Residents of these states also are less inclined to back their incumbent House member rather than to look around for someone new to support, 19 vs. 28 percent. And registered voters in these states favor Republicans over Democrats for the House by a 23-point margin, 58-35 percent, vs. 7 points, 49-42 percent, in the rest of the country.
“70 percent rate the economy negatively, including 38 percent who say it is in “poor” condition,” The Washington Post added. “About half of Americans overall and political independents blame Biden for fast-rising inflation, and more than 6 in 10 Americans say he has not accomplished much after 10 months in office, including 71 percent of independents.”
The poll also found that Democrats have seen their support among voters diminish significantly for which party voters trust on to handle education. Democrats led Republicans on this issue by 3%, 44% to 41%. The last time that the poll asked the question, Democrats enjoyed a 23% lead over Republicans on the issue, 56% to 33%.
“Biden’s popularity also has slumped among his own base,” The Washington Post added. “In June, 94 percent of Democrats approved of the way he was handling his job compared with 3 percent who disapproved. Today, 80 percent of Democrats are positive and 16 percent are negative. Barely 4 in 10 Democrats strongly approve of Biden today, down from about 7 in 10 who did so in June.”
Sen. John Barrasso (R-WY), chairman of the Senate Republican Conference, responded to the latest poll numbers for Biden during an interview on Sunday with ABC News, saying that the numbers were proof that the president was failing in the eyes of the majority of Americans.
“Look, the American people have given this president failing grades across the board on his first quarter report card, failing because of high costs and prices, failing because of an overrun border, failing because of the tragedy and the failure in Afghanistan,” Barrasso said. “So, only one in five Americans think the country is heading in the right direction. And no matter what bill the president happens to sign tomorrow, that’s not going to change the failing grades.”
This report has been updated to include additional information.