In a segment of NBC’s Meet the press On Sunday, host Chuck Todd warned of a disaster looming for Democrats in the 2022 midterm elections. His comments came in light of a new poll by the network showing that three-quarters of Americans believe the country is going the wrong way.
“Voters’ views on the economy begin to harden in an election year around May. If that theory holds true, Democrats are in serious trouble right now, because in our new NBC News poll, just 16 percent say the country is moving in the right direction, while a whopping 75 percent say we are on the wrong track. said† “In fact, that number has been 70-plus in the past seven months, which has meant big losses for the ruling party in the past.”
President Biden’s approval rate continues to fall amid ongoing inflation and supply chain crises, baby food shortages, conflict in Ukraine, continued frequent migrant flows across the southern border and other major problems. According to the NBC News poll, only 39 percent of American adults and 42 percent of registered voters approve of Biden’s performance, nearly two years after his presidency. The disapproval of Biden’s work behavior is 56 percent among adults and 54 percent among registered voters.
“President Biden’s numbers have hit a new low. Only 39 percent approve of his work performance, against 56 percent who disapprove. In fact, the president has become as unpopular as Donald Trump in this poll,” Todd added.
The poll found that abortion is becoming an increasingly relevant topic for Americans after the leak of a draft Supreme Court opinion earlier this month that would overturn the landmark 1973 ruling. Roe v. Wade, which legalized abortion nationally. However, the draft opinion does not appear to materially change the negative mid-term outlook for Democrats, with inflation and the economy weighing most heavily on voters’ minds according to the poll. This finding could alleviate GOP leadership’s fears that a roe reversal could undermine some of the party’s expected medium-term profits, which so far will be significant.
In the last four monthly Gallup polls that asked Americans, “What do you think is the most important problem facing the country today?”, abortion fell below 1 percent, replaced by concerns about inflation (17 percent), the economy in general (11 percent) and fuel/oil prices (4 percent), as our Jim Geraghty pointed out.
