CNN Poll: Nearly three-quarters of Americans think House GOP leaders haven’t paid enough attention to most important problems

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Fewer than one-third of Americans believe that House GOP leaders are prioritizing the country’s most important issues, according to a new CNN Poll conducted by SSRS. Neither party’s congressional leadership earns majority approval, and Republicans are particularly likely to express discontent with their own party leadership.

Just 27% of US adults say they think Republican leaders in the House have had the right priorities so far, while 73% say they haven’t paid enough attention to the country’s most important problems. A 59% majority disapprove of the way Democratic leaders in Congress are handling their jobs overall, while a broader 67% disapprove of Republican leaders in Congress. CONTINUED

Ariel Edwards-Levy, CNN

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Initial Senate Ratings: Democrats Have a Lot of Defending to Do

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Key Points
• We are rolling out our first ratings of the 2024 Senate map.
• Democrats are playing much more defense than Republicans.
• Of the current Democratic seats, West Virginia starts as the clearest Republican takeover opportunity, with Arizona, Montana, and Ohio as Toss-ups.
• The 11 current Republican seats all start in the Safe Republican category, with the exceptions of Florida and Texas. The GOP has no Toss-up or Leans Republican seats to defend at the starting gate.
• Despite the Democrats’ level of exposure, we view the overall race for the Senate as a Toss-up to start. CONTINUED

Kyle Kondik, Sabato’s Crystal Ball

Crystal Ball Senate ratings

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Biden Averaged 41% Job Approval in His Second Year

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President Joe Biden averaged 41% job approval during his second year in office, which spanned Jan. 20, 2022, through Jan. 19, 2023. Among post-World War II presidents elected to their first term, only Donald Trump had a lower second-year average, but just barely, at 40.4%. Many other recent presidents, including Jimmy Carter, Ronald Reagan, Bill Clinton and Barack Obama, had approval ratings below 50% in their second years. John Kennedy and George W. Bush were the most popular second-year presidents, averaging better than 70% job approval. CONTINUED

Jeffrey M. Jones, Gallup

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Overall approval of U.S. Supreme Court has ticked up from post-Dobbs low six months ago

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A new Marquette Law School Poll national survey finds that 47% of adults approve of the job the U.S. Supreme Court is doing, while 53% disapprove. Approval of the Court has been rising from a recent low point of 38% in July 2022, although it remains well below the 60% approval rate in July 2021. In November 2022, the most recent Marquette national survey, 44% of the public approved and 56% disapproved. …

In the current survey, 35% favor the June decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, overturning Roe v. Wade, while 64% oppose that ruling. … Looking back to earlier decisions, a substantial majority, 67%, favor the Court’s 2015 ruling establishing a right to same sex marriage, while 33% are opposed. CONTINUED

Charles Franklin, Marquette Law School Poll

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CNN Poll: Broad majority of Americans approve of appointment of special counsel to investigate Biden documents

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More than 8 in 10 Americans approve of the appointment of a special counsel to investigate classified documents found at President Joe Biden’s Delaware residence and an office he used after serving as vice president, according to a new CNN Poll conducted by SSRS. The poll finds broad approval across party lines for the appointment, with 88% of Republicans, 84% of independents and 80% of Democrats saying they approve of it. …

But the poll also suggests that news about the discovery of the documents has had little impact thus far on baseline views of the president. Biden’s approval rating in the new survey stands at 45% approve to 55% disapprove, little changed from CNN’s December poll, in which 46% approved of his handling of the presidency. CONTINUED

Jennifer Agiesta & Ariel Edwards-Levy, CNN

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The redistricting wars aren’t over and that could tip control of the House

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The battle for control of the House of Representatives increasingly resembles a sporting event in which the teams are changing the dimensions of the playing field even after the game is underway.

As many as a dozen or more states could redraw the lines governing their congressional elections again before the 2024 election, more than enough to shift the balance of power in a House where the two parties have only managed to eke out mirror image five-seat majorities over the past two elections. CONTINUED

Ronald Brownstein, CNN

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