Majorities favor support for Ukraine despite broad concerns about impacts

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Concerns about escalation and economic consequences of the war in Ukraine loom large in U.S. public opinion, even as majorities of Americans favor increased support for Ukraine, particularly in terms of humanitarian aid and further economic sanctions on Russia.

Fifty-five percent in this ABC News/Washington Post poll also favor increased military support, even as 8 in 10 express worries about a wider war or the possible use of nuclear weapons by Russia. As many also worry about direct U.S. military involvement, a step most by far rule out. CONTINUED

Steven Sparks, ABC News

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Biden Received Early Warnings That Immigration and Inflation Could Erode His Support

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President Biden enjoyed high approval among Americans in the early months of his presidency. Millions of vaccines were distributed throughout the United States. The White House trumpeted high job growth as proof of a rebounding economy. But privately Mr. Biden’s lead pollster was already sounding the alarm that even with the early successes, certain gathering threats could sink support for the president and his party.

“Immigration is a growing vulnerability for the president,” John Anzalone and his team warned in a package of confidential polling, voter surveys and recommendations compiled for the White House. “Voters do not feel he has a plan to address the situation on the border, and it is starting to take a toll.” Within a month, there was another stark warning. “Nearly nine in 10 registered voters are also concerned about increasing inflation,” said another memo obtained by The New York Times. CONTINUED

Zolan Kanno-Youngs, Jonathan Martin & Alexander Burns, New York Times

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Polls show Biden is losing support from Gen Z. These young voters aren’t surprised

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As the political calendar inches towards the midterm elections in November, a run of recent polling all points to one thing: President Biden has a problem with young voters.

The new NPR/PBS NewsHour/Marist poll found support for the president had plummeted 16 points among Gen Z and millennials in the past year, to sit at 37% — the lowest of any age group in the U.S.

Harvard’s Institute of Politics also found approval ratings with Gen Z were down 18 points in the past year, to 41%, and Gallup found a 21-point drop to 39%. CONTINUED

Michael Levitt, NPR News

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How long can Democrats keep losing rural voters and still survive?

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In the past few election cycles, color-coded result maps have developed a very familiar pattern at the county level. They mostly look like seas of Republican red punctuated by small islands of Democratic blue, even in races that end up being close.

Those maps are a sign of a major remaking of American politics over the past few decades, a remarkable deepening of the nation’s political urban/rural divide. And for some Democrats, there are now questions about whether that split is getting too wide. CONTINUED

Dante Chinni, NBC News

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Biden ticks up, but GOP holds advantage on economy, Post-ABC poll finds

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President Biden’s standing with Americans has improved slightly over the past two months, but he remains in negative territory in most assessments of his performance in office and Republicans hold substantial advantages over Democrats on key economic indicators that are shaping the midterm election year, according to a Washington Post-ABC News poll.

The new survey, while better for the president and his party than his low point two months ago, nonetheless underscores the head winds Democratic candidates are facing ahead of the November balloting. CONTINUED

Dan Balz, Emily Guskin & Scott Clement, Washington Post

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GOP strong on crime, boosted by trust in inflation

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Broad Republican advantages in trust to tame inflation and handle crime are keeping the party in a strong position for the 2022 midterm elections in the latest ABC News/Washington Post poll, albeit off the historic peak in vote preference the GOP attained last fall.

Americans trust the Republican Party over the Democrats to handle inflation, by 19% points; the economy more generally, by 14 points; and crime, by a dozen points. Trust in the Republicans to handle crime is its highest (by a single point) in ABC/Post results back 32 years; trust on the economy, just slightly off its high two months ago. CONTINUED

Gary Langer, ABC News

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