Republican congressional candidates have largest voter preference lead in 40 YEARS with 10-point advantage as Democrats try to hold onto their slim House and Senate majorities
- Republicans hold their biggest lead in 40 years over Democratic congressional candidates when it comes to registered voters preferences
- A new poll shows that 51% of 882 registered voters surveyed would support a GOP candidate in their district in the midterm elections if they were held today
- Only 41% say they would support a Democrat
- In the same poll, President Joe Biden's approval rating continued to dive in the midst of economic crises to an all time low of 41%
- Seven in 10 surveyed say the economy is in 'bad shape', which is up from 58%
- Inflation continues to soar as the U.S. faces a worker shortage and supply chain crisis as the country continues to try and recover from COVID economic dips
Republicans have the largest lead in 40 years when it comes to voters' preferences going into the 2022 midterms, with a new poll showing more than half of U.S. voters would prefer a Republican candidate.
An ABC News/Washington Post poll released Sunday shows that 51 per cent of 882 registered voters surveyed would support a GOP candidate in their district in the midterm elections if they were held today while only 41 per cent say they would support a Democrat.
Registered voters were asked in the phone survey: 'If the election for the U.S. House of Representatives were being held today, would you vote for (the Democratic candidate) or (the Republican candidate) in your congressional district?'
Four per cent said they wouldn't vote for either a Republican or Democrat, another 4 per cent said they don't have an opinion and the remaining 1 per cent fall in the 'other' category.
This poll shows the GOP is in the biggest lead over their Democratic counterparts in four decades – since the pollsters started asking the question in November 1981.
Republicans hold their biggest lead in 40 years over Democratic congressional candidates when it comes to registered voters preferences
The GOP lead comes as President Joe Biden's approval hits an all time low of his presidency
Republicans leading Democrats in this category has only happened nine times ever in the 110 polls taken with the question.
It is also only the second time where the advantage has been significant – outside the margin of error. In January 2002, the GOP had a seven point lead over Democrats.
Otherwise, Democrats have consistently out-ranked Republicans in the nation-wide voter preference survey.
Evidence of the shift this year comes off the heels of the Virginia gubernatorial election.
Republican political newcomer Glenn Youngkin emerged victorious over Democrat Terry McAuliffe – a former governor of the Old Dominion State – in the election earlier this month.
Democrats considered the gubernatorial race in Virginia a shoe-in after Biden won the state by 10 points in the 2020 presidential election. They also thought the same of New Jersey, and while the Democrat incumbent did win that race it was by razor-thin margins.
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The midterms are concerning Democrats as President Biden's favorability continues to plunge, reaching an all time low of 41 per cent in the latest ABC/Post poll, down 11 points from April.
The swift slide comes amidst a series of failures mostly related to the economy, including a 31-year high inflation rate, continued high unemployment numbers and a supply chain crisis just in time for the holiday season.
Since October 2020, wages rose by 4.9 per cent, but inflation rose by 6.2 per cent.
Joe Biden's approval rating continues to dive in the midst of economic crises, dipping to 41%. The president disembarks Marine One at For McNair after returning from Camp David to Washington on Sunday
The new poll shows an 11 point drop in Biden's approval since April
Of the 1,001 adults surveyed between November 7-10, seven in 10 say the economy is in 'bad shape', which is up from 58 per cent who said the same in the poll taken in the spring.
While 48 per cent of respondents say they blame Biden directly for inflation, Biden has 55 per cent disapproval and only 39 per cent approval for his handling of the economy overall – a six point drop since early September and a massive 13 point drop from April.
Biden's disapproval rating on the economy is six points higher than former President Donald Trump's highest disapproval rating in that area in September 2017, according to the ABC News/Washington Post poll.
The president's overall approval rating is very similar to his ratings related to the economy.
When Trump hit a low economic approval, Republicans lost a whopping 40 seats in the House in the 2018 midterm elections – an eerie premonition as Democrats try to hold on to their slim majorities in Congress going into the 2022 midterms.
Despite Biden scoring a win after Congress finally passed the $1.2 trillion bipartisan infrastructure bill earlier this month, the victory gave him no bump in approval, which could lead his administration to push even harder for passage of his Build Back Better agenda that includes massive social and welfare spending.
The poll also shows that many of Biden's keystone policies are much more popular than he is.
There is 63 per cent favorability toward the infrastructure bill and 58 per cent support for the $2 trillion spending bill still under debate in Congress.
Just 31 per cent of adults feel that Biden is keeping his major campaign promises – and only 35 per cent feel he has accomplished much overall as president so far.
The poll of 1,001 adults has a margin of error of 3.5 percentage points and includes responses from 882 registered voters.
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