Joe Biden and the Democrats are still facing trouble among the voters as we get closer to the midterm elections. According to a new ABC News/Washington Post poll, Republicans’ advantage to handle high inflation and lower crime has grown to or near record highs in the poll dated back 32 years.
That would normally be good news for Republicans but while Biden’s unpopularity seems to be growing, the partisan advantage seems to have completely disappeared.
Voters view Republicans as better able to deal with high inflation by 19%, the economy by 14%, and crime by 12% over the Democrats.
That would normally be good news for Republicans but while Biden’s unpopularity seems to be growing, the partisan advantage seems to have completely disappeared.
The same poll shows that Democrats have gained a one-point advantage in voter preference which is a substantial change from the 10-point Republican advantage in the same poll last November.
One area that Biden has really struggled with is regaining the support of young people and the fear that Democrats have of the 18 to 29-year-old voters not turning out in the midterm elections.
The ABC News/Washington Post poll does not break down voter approval by age.
However, an NPR/PBS NewsHour/Marist poll, shows support for Biden had dropped 16 points among Gen Z and millennials in the past year, down to 37% — the lowest of any age group.
These numbers have plummeted compared to nearly 61% of voters aged 18-29 years old who selected Biden in 2020 according to the Associated Press. It may hide an underlying issue that these voters were never really happy with Biden at all and could prove problematic for Democrats in the midterm elections.
James Kweisi Butler, a 24-year-old model and content creator from Los Angeles who voted for Biden in the last election expressed to National Public Radio that he is not really surprised by the President’s sinking poll numbers among voters like him. Butler describes himself as liberal, black and queer.
“I’m not surprised at all, because we weren’t very excited. I feel like that was our safety net,” Butler told NPR. “We gave him our vote, we got so many promises, one being the student loans, which is hugely impacting our generation right now. And that big promise has still been unfulfilled.”
This frustration of Biden could cause voters to sit out in protest even as the partisan advantage seems to be even in congressional preference.
Will left-leaning young people not turn out to vote for Biden in the midterm elections as a way to punish him for failure to deliver on student loan debt? How many seats will the Republicans gain in Congress if this happens?
