Ipsos’ Core Political: 45% of Americans approve of President Biden’s job performance

· Leave a Comment

This week’s Ipsos’ Core Political shows that Americans continue to be divided about the main problem facing the nation. Just over two in five Americans report they approve of how Joe Biden is handling the presidency.

A quarter of Americans say they view the economy, unemployment, and jobs as the most important issue facing the country (25%). Public health, disease, and illness is a top priority for 12% of Americans, followed by the health care system at 10%. …

Forty-five percent of Americans approve of Joe Biden’s job performance. CONTINUED

Ipsos

The OPINION TODAY email newsletter is a concise daily rundown of significant new poll results and insightful analysis. It’s FREE. Sign up here: opiniontoday.substack

Hispanic Americans’ Party ID: Updated Analysis

· Leave a Comment

The U.S. Hispanic population is a segment of growing importance on the American political scene. This reflects in large part the growth in Hispanic Americans as a percentage of the U.S. population. The Census Bureau estimates that about 19% of the U.S. population is Hispanic, based on responses to the question, “Is this person of Hispanic, Latino or Spanish origin?” …

Hispanic Americans have traditionally voted Democratic. The growth in the Hispanic population could therefore suggest political gains for Democrats in the years to come. But discussion has increasingly focused on the possibility that the Hispanic population’s Democratic orientation may be eroding, upsetting the traditional political calculus and giving Democratic candidates less of a margin among Hispanic Americans than in the past. CONTINUED

Frank Newport, Gallup

The OPINION TODAY email newsletter is a concise daily rundown of significant new poll results and insightful analysis. It’s FREE. Sign up here: opiniontoday.substack

Senate Democrats May Have Further To Fall In 2024

· Leave a Comment

My friends who are Democrats, particularly those of the more progressive variety, don’t seem to understand how deep they are in the political hole this year—and just how hard it might be to get out of it in 2024, particularly in the Senate.

On a basic level, midterm elections are referenda on the sitting president and, if a president’s party has control of the Senate and the House, on that governing party as a whole. President Biden’s current Gallup job-approval rating of 40 percent is the second-lowest of any president in the era of modern polling at a comparable time, above only Donald Trump’s 36 percent. But consider that Biden’s approval is 9 points worse than Barack Obama’s 49 percent at this point, and 14 points below where Bill Clinton was. Democrats lost six Senate and 64 House seats in Obama’s first midterm in 2010, and gave up eight Senate and 54 seats House seats in Clinton’s first midterm in 1994. CONTINUED

Charlie Cook

The OPINION TODAY email newsletter is a concise daily rundown of significant new poll results and insightful analysis. It’s FREE. Sign up here: opiniontoday.substack

Growth Is Surging in Biden’s Economy. Why Don’t Voters Feel Better?

· Leave a Comment

President Biden is contending with an uncomfortable disconnect: The economy grew at the fastest pace since 1984 last year, but voters are downright pessimistic about economic conditions and their own financial prospects. The divide traces back to the lingering pandemic and high prices, economists said. …

The contrast between how the economy is doing on paper and how it feels on the ground has made it difficult for Mr. Biden to capitalize politically on what has been, by most measures, a historically strong economic recovery even after accounting for rising prices. …

The conundrum Mr. Biden is facing shows clearly in polling and survey numbers. CONTINUED

Jeanna Smialek & Ben Casselman, New York Times

The OPINION TODAY email newsletter is a concise daily rundown of significant new poll results and insightful analysis. It’s FREE. Sign up here: opiniontoday.substack

With Omicron, Americans Are Taking More Personal Precautions

· Leave a Comment

As public health officials closely monitor the spread and severity of the omicron variant, most Americans are again avoiding travel, staying away from large groups, and wearing masks. To feel safe while participating in public life, 59% consider it essential that they personally are vaccinated. Few Americans think the pandemic will end with the virus largely eliminated and 83% believe it will end when COVID becomes more like seasonal flu.

Americans are more inclined to stay away from large groups, wear a face mask, and avoid nonessential travel than they were in December 2021. However, fewer people are using these precautions than before vaccines were widely available. In February 2021, more than 7 in 10 Americans reported staying away from large groups, wearing face masks, and avoiding travel. CONTINUED

AP-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research

The OPINION TODAY email newsletter is a concise daily rundown of significant new poll results and insightful analysis. It’s FREE. Sign up here: opiniontoday.substack

No Consensus on Voting Rights vs. Filibuster

· Leave a Comment

Would the country be better or worse off if Donald Trump beat Joe Biden in 2020? The nation is evenly divided on this hypothetical question, according to the Monmouth University Poll. Moreover, about 1 in 8 Americans believe both that Biden’s victory was only due to fraud and that there is still a path to overturn those results and reinstate Trump in the Oval Office. The poll finds broad support, at least in the abstract, for measures that would standardize processes around both election integrity and voting access. However, support for those actions run up against mixed opinion of processes like the filibuster, producing some inconsistencies in overall public attitudes. CONTINUED

Monmouth University Polling Institute

The OPINION TODAY email newsletter is a concise daily rundown of significant new poll results and insightful analysis. It’s FREE. Sign up here: opiniontoday.substack