But, abortion? Republicans are supposed to lose on abortion because nothing else, according to Democrats, is remotely as important.
Apparently, that’s not the case for most voters who see the Biden recession as kind of a big deal and are wondering when it’s going to end. For a couple of months, Democrats have been regaining ground in the generic ballot and now lead on average by one to two points.
New numbers from ABC News and The Washington Post, however, are throwing bathtubs of cold water on Democrats’ belief that they experienced some kind of resurgence thanks to abortion and Biden’s non-existent newfound popularity among voters.
The last numbers put the GOP back on top, 47 to 46, in a poll that hasn’t been friendly to Republicans for many weeks:
Democrats and Republicans are neck and neck on a generic congressional ballot just six weeks out from this year’s midterm elections, new polling shows.
The Washington Post-ABC News poll released Sunday found 47 percent of voters reported they’d support a Republican candidate and 46 percent said they’d support a Democrat if the midterms were held today.
About 2 percent of voters said they’d back neither, and 1 percent said they’d back someone else. Another 4 percent reported having no opinion on which party they’d support.
The top line numbers simply reflect the reality underneath: Biden is still unpopular, his policies are bad for the country, and the economy remains the top concern.
For example, Biden’s approval still topped at 39%, and 57% say he hasn’t accomplished anything as president:
President Biden continues to be a drag on Democratic candidates this fall. The Post-ABC survey pegs his approval rating at 39 percent, with 53 percent disapproving, including 41 percent strongly disapproving. The share of Americans saying Biden has accomplished “a great deal” or “a good amount” has grown from 35 percent last November to 40 percent today, although a 57 percent majority still says he has not accomplished much or anything.
Perhaps the most illustrative way to make the point that Democrats are losing on the fundamentals is how voters rank the issues they care about. One issue still comes out on top, by far.
This chart is really just a fancy way to make abortion and climate change appear more important to voters than they are. When you combine the top concerns, the numbers shake out like this:
Economy: 85%
Inflation: 78%
Education: 77%
Crime: 67%
Immigration: 63%
Abortion: 62%
Climate: 50%
In other words, the economy, inflation, education, crime, and immigration come out in front of abortion and climate change, two issues that favor Democrats regardless of the national political environment.
Where is the good news for Biden and Democrats touting the “Inflation Reduction Act” as a reason for voters to support them in November? A good majority say Biden hasn’t accomplished a thing, and many of them probably would prefer it that way since his policies have wreaked havoc on the economy.
If Americans are voting with their wallets and their life experiences, it’s Democrats destined to suffer midterm losses. If Republicans are still managing to lead the generic ballot, a measurement that often skews favorable to Democrats, November could look worse for Biden’s party than previously forecast.
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