Democrats “Lose Ground” as Midterms Approach

Democrats have another reason to panic about losing their slim majorities in Congress in this November’s midterm elections. A Wall Street Journal poll found that Democrats have “lost ground” to Republicans on issues voters say are most important. 

Wall Street Journal: President Biden and his fellow Democrats have lost ground to Republicans on several of the issues most important to voters, a new Wall Street Journal poll finds, a troubling sign for the party seeking to extend its controlling majority of Congress for another two years. . .

Just 42% said they approved of Mr. Biden’s performance in office, which was virtually unchanged from the previous Journal poll in mid-November. Meanwhile, Democratic advantages narrowed over Republicans on issues related to improving education and the Covid-19 response. A 16-percentage-point Democratic edge on which party would best handle the pandemic was down to 11 points, while a 9-percentage-point lead on education issues was down to 5 points.

When asked about which party was best able to protect middle-class families, the 5-point advantage for Democrats four months ago evaporated and left the parties essentially tied on the question.

Additionally, the poll found that minority groups had swung hard against Democrats since the previous survey in November.

Wall Street Journal: By 9 percentage points, Hispanic voters in the new poll said they would back a Republican candidate for Congress over a Democrat. The two parties had been tied among Hispanic voters in the Journal’s survey in November.

Democratic margins also eroded among Black voters, who favored a Democrat for Congress by 35 percentage points in the new survey, down from 56 points in November. Support for a Republican candidate rose to 27% among Black voters, up from 12% in November.

Bottom Line: Democrats are losing ground on voters’ most important issues and with key demographic groups. In November, voters could wipe out Democratic majorities in one or both chambers of Congress.