A Harvard Harris poll has found that 56% of American voters believe their financial situation has worsened since President Joe Biden took office. This is the highest percentage ever recorded in their monthly poll, according to the authors. It may not be the last record-setting result, with regular gasoline at $4.00 per gallon in the United States and no relief as the nation enters summer. Between four and nine percent of respondents had no opinion about this metric until October 2021. Everyone is now weighing in.
This finding of Americans’ economic health is consistent and consistent with other results. Only 29% believe the country is on the right path. These are the stark partisan differences. The Democrats are the exception, with 54% of them saying that the country is moving in the right direction. Only 12% and 18% of Independents are in agreement. The poll shows that unaffiliated voters are closely following the sentiments expressed by Republicans on cultural and economic issues.
10% of Republicans and 17% among Independents said that the United States is heading in the right direction when asked about its economic direction under Biden. However, 47% of Democrats approve of the economic policy results. Nearly two-thirds (or more) of respondents believe the U.S. economic system is weak. The majority of respondents feel negative about their personal circumstances over the next 12 months, while 41% believe that there will be a recession within the next year.
These results indicate that voters are most concerned about inflation and the economy. These issues are cited by 70% of respondents. Inflation worries have risen seven points to 40% in one month. The third place is immigration. Voters rank the issues Democrats want to pivot to, including gun control, abortion, and race relations, 9th, 11th, and 14th respectively, and 26th. Only 5% of voters consider January 6th an important issue.
The poll shows that Biden’s overall approval is still at 40%. This is the average of 14%, 30%, and 75% respectively of Republicans and Independents. Biden’s approval rating is only 56% among African Americans, and he has the approval of just half the Hispanic voters. These are terrible numbers for a Democrat president.
Biden’s approval on specific issues has plummeted precipitously since Inauguration day 2021
He is only above water in his handling of COVID-19. At this point, it’s not clear what steps are needed to fight the virus. Biden’s approval on this dimension increased from 42% in March when it was low, and he had largely stopped talking about it.
The May results showed that Republicans are +5 in approval. Only 31% of Americans approve of the work done by Congress, with Democrats running both chambers. Only Florida Governor is more popular than any other prominent politician. At +6 and +3, Ron DeSantis (R-S.C.), and Sen. Tim Scott, respectively, have positive approval ratings. Senator Joe Manchin (D.W.Va.), is the most popular Democratic at -5. Only Sen. Bernie Sanders (D.Vt.), is better at -1.
The net approval rating for Speaker Nancy Pelosi stands at -22. Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D.N.Y.), tie at -15. Vice President Kamala Harris is ranked -13 in the Executive Branch while President Biden is ranked -11. Former occupants of these offices, President Donald Trump, Vice President Mike Pence, and -2 respectively, were awarded a -7 each.
Voters indicate that potential leaders of both the Republican Party and President Trump are more popular than potential leaders of Democrats. Hillary Clinton continues to hint that she might be open to taking on more responsibilities in 2024, and her net approval stands at -17. Trump has a net approval of +10, which is more than Clinton. He is also more popular than Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell who had a net approval score of -25 before he assigned Texas Senator John Cornyn to work with Democrats on new gun laws.
Biden’s performance in the midterms will be a deterrent for the grizzled Democrat strategist James Carville. Barack Obama’s popularity has been known to cost Democrats approximately 1,000 seats across the country. Biden isn’t popular and the economy is deteriorating fast. Do not underestimate the power of the GOP to make it worse, but there is the possibility of a tsunami.
