In a new Cygnal poll commissioned by the Republican State Leadership Committee (RSLC) and released on Thursday, Joe Biden’s increasingly negative approval ratings nationally are beginning to show up at the state level.
The poll was conducted on January 19 and 20 in Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Texas, and Wisconsin, and targeted voters who said they were likely to vote in the midterms in November.
According to the poll, on a generic ballot — an unnamed Republican versus an unnamed Democrat — Republicans have a six-percentage-point lead over Democrats. Most said it was because they perceived Republicans as a check against Biden’s radical policies pushed by Democrats.
On specific issues, Republicans have a significant lead over Democrats: On the economy in general, those polled favored Republicans over Democrats by 51 percent to 38 percent. Regarding inflation and the cost of living, state Republicans hold a 10-point advantage over Democrats, 49 percent to 39 percent, and regarding crime and violence, Republicans hold a 12-point advantage over Democrats, 50 percent to 38 percent.
At present Republicans hold a substantial advantage over Democrats among state legislatures — 99-62 — which is likely to increase in November. As Dee Duncan, president of the RSLC, said:
If state Republicans continue to run on being the last line of defense against President Biden’s failed leadership and promote policies that stimulate the economy and ease the cost of living, make their communities safer, and empower parents to have more control of their children’s educations, they will have a major advantage on the issues in 2022 in [these] battleground states.
Democrats are reading the same tea leaves as the RSLC, and more and more of them are leaving office before the midterms. At last count nearly 30 had decided to exit, while the number of “vulnerables” — Democrats facing increasing challenges at the district level — is increasing.
The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee just added the names of seven more incumbents to their growing list of those increasingly likely to be turned out of office in November: Reps. Greg Stanton (Ariz.), Sanford Bishop (Ga.), Bill Foster (Ill.), Dan Kildee (Mich.), Josh Gottheimer (N.J.), Marcy Kaptur (Ohio), and Jennifer Wexton (Va.).
In Georgia, Biden’s collapse of support from those who voted for him in 2020 is epic. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution conducted its own poll and reported that Biden’s support “has fallen off a cliff in Georgia.” Last May, 51 percent of Georgia voters approved of Biden’s job performance, yet now his approval rate is only 33.7 percent.
But, looking behind those numbers reveals an even greater catastrophe: While just five percent of Democrats gave Biden an unfavorable rating back in May, that number has now skyrocketed to 21 percent. Among black voters, Biden’s disapproval rating jumped over the same period from eight percent to an astonishing 36 percent.
Such unhappiness is also impacting Georgia’s gubernatorial race. Republican Governor Brian Kemp holds a substantial lead over his expected rival, Democrat Stacey Abrams. It will be remembered that in 2020 Kemp barely edged Abrams out in a contested race. Biden is so toxic that Abrams is refusing his offer to help her in a rematch with Kemp.
In every metric used by Gallup to measure voters’ perception of Biden over time, the 79-year-old has lost ground: from likeability to intelligence, from his sensitivity to people’s needs to good judgment, from his ability to manage the office to being a strong and decisive leader.
Especially damaging is Biden’s fall from grace over voters’ perception of how capably he is managing the government: In September 2020 (just before the November election), he enjoyed a hopeful 52-percent favorability rating — now it’s at 38 percent, a drop of 14 percentage points.
Biden is becoming an increasingly heavy millstone around Democrats’ necks, threatening to sink them into oblivion in November.
Related article:
Pew Research: Biden Suffering From “Diminished Public Support” in Latest Poll
