‘An Ominous Double Whammy’: New Polling Spells Trouble For Democrats In Midterms

Two new polls may spell trouble for the Democratic Party going into the 2022 midterm elections and even the 2024 presidential race — one from Hill-HarrisX and the other from Quinnipiac University.

According to the Quinnipiac poll, which surveyed 1,378 adults nationwide from November 11-15, President Joe Biden’s job approval rating has continued its downward trajectory. Among adults, just 36% approve of the president’s performance thus far and 53% disapprove. Among registered voters, 38% approve while 53% disapprove. These numbers are the lowest approval ratings Biden has seen from Quinnipiac.

Biden Job Approval

Among Adults (1,378):
Approve 36%
Disapprove 53%
.
Among RV (1,262):
Approve 38%
Disapprove 53%

.@QuinnipiacPoll, 11/11-15https://t.co/5z6BtSgHfs

— Political Polls (@Politics_Polls) November 18, 2021

Biden’s approval ratings on specific issues were not much higher, leaving him upside-down on everything from his administration’s COVID-19 response and climate change to foreign policy and the economy.

Coronavirus pandemic response: 45% approve, 50% disapproveClimate change: 41% approve, 48% disapproveEconomy: 34% approve, 59% disapproveForeign policy: 33% approve, 55% disapprove

Those polled also appeared to question Biden’s honesty and leadership abilities. A majority, 51%, said they did not believe Biden was honest while 42% said that he was. Over half, 57%, of those surveyed said they did not believe Biden possessed good leadership skills while just over one-third, 37%, said that he did.

The poll also predicted an uphill battle for Democrats hoping to preserve or expand upon their razor-thin margins in both the U.S. House and Senate. While both Republicans and Democrats say that they’d like to see their respective parties either gain or maintain power in the legislative houses, independents appear to favor Republican control in both.

Among independents, 41% said they would prefer to see Republicans win control of the House of Representatives, while 31% favored Democratic control. The remaining 28% did not offer an opinion on the subject.

With regard to the Senate, 44% of independents said they’d like Republicans to take control of the body and 34% said they’d prefer to keep Democrats at the helm — 22% did not comment either way.

Overall, registered voters also favored Republican control of both legislative chambers, with 46% saying they’d rather have Republicans in charge of the House (41% favored Democratic control) and 46% saying they’d prefer a Republican-controlled Senate (42% said they preferred Democrats to remain in power).

Quinnipiac University polling analyst Tim Malloy called the poll “an ominous double whammy for the Democrats with midterms less than a year out,” adding, “The Senate and the House will