Dems’ election picture darkens
wrong track; one in five (20%) say it is headed in the right direction. That’s no better than the public’s uneasy view during the final weeks of the Trump administration.
The infrastructure bill, which passed Friday with some bipartisan support, is backed by 2-1 (61%32%) among those surveyed. The supporters include a third of Republicans.
“We’re not keeping our infrastructure updated – I don’t mean currently updated, I mean since 1930, some of these things have been in place,” says Kathleen Loyd, 70, a retired juvenile court officer from Piedmont in southeast Missouri. She dodges potholes when she drives and had to remodel her kitchen after a water main broke.
Americans are closely divided on the “Build Back Better” act pressed by congressional Democrats. In the poll, 47% support the $1.85 trillion bill; 44% oppose it. The sweeping measure includes more than $500 billion in climate change and clean energy funding. It would establish pre-K for all 3- and 4year-olds; extend the child tax credit for one year; expand Medicaid coverage in some states; add hearing coverage to Medicare; and finance affordable housing programs.
The White House and its allies haven’t convinced most Americans that the measure would benefit them. Those surveyed are a bit more likely to say its provisions would hurt their families rather than help them, 30%-26%. Thirty-one percent say it would not have much effect.
Those findings reflect either a failure of communication by the bill’s backers or a disconnect with what voters feel they most need.
In the poll, Congress gets dismal ratings: 12% approve, 75% disapprove. Congressional Democrats have a 29% favorable rating; congressional Republicans 35%.
Biden’s job approval rating is dismal, too, at 38% approve, 59% disapprove. He has the lowest rating of any modern president at this point in his term except Trump.
The party of a president with an approval rating that has dipped below 50% often faces a blowout. In the 2017 midterms, when Trump’s approval was at 37%, ReIf publicans lost 41 House seats. In the 1994 midterms, when President Bill Clinton’s approval was at 48%, Democrats lost 54.
Last week, Republican Glenn Youngkin defeated Democrat Terry McAuliffe for governor in a closely watched off-year election in Virginia. In the poll, 48% agree the outcome is a “telling sign of a Republican sweep in 2022.” 39% say it was “one state election and doesn’t have national implications.”
Biden has lost ground with voters since he won last year’s election, but Trump hasn’t gained it. Over the past year, twothirds of those surveyed say, their opinion of Trump hasn’t changed. Fourteen percent say their view of him has gotten better, 19% say it has gotten worse.
Trump commands more loyalty among his supporters than Biden does. Among those who voted for Biden last year, almost 4 in 10, 39%, say they hope he doesn’t run for another term; 50% hope he will run. Among those who voted for Trump last year, 1 in 4, 26%, hope he won’t run again; 65% hope he will.
If the presidential election were today between Biden and Trump, 44% say they would vote for Trump, 40% for Biden, 11% for an unnamed third-party candidate. In the election last year, Biden beat Trump 54%47%.