Negativity about the president, economy, and direction of the country persists

While the Democrats did better than expected in the midterm elections, the public’s opinion of President Biden’s job performance, the national economy, and the direction of the country is stable but still negative. Overall, 43% of the public approve of how Biden is handling his job, unchanged from the AP-NORC […] Read more »

How Democrats Prevented a Red Wave

By all major political indicators, 2022 should have delivered the type of shellacking that the president’s party typically endures in midterm elections: Over 70% of voters believed the country was on the wrong track, 76% rated the economy negatively, and President Biden’s approval rating of 43% has historically resulted in […] Read more »

What the Georgia Runoff Revealed

Senator Raphael Warnock’s win in yesterday’s Georgia Senate runoff capped a commanding show of strength by Democrats in the states that decided the 2020 race for the White House—and will likely pick the winner again in 2024. With Warnock’s victory over Republican Herschel Walker, Democrats have defeated every GOP Senate […] Read more »

How Trump’s legacy became ‘pure poison’ for independents

The highly touted red wave in last month’s midterm election failed to develop largely because it hit a wall of resistance among independent voters, especially across the key battleground states. And that presents difficult questions for Republicans looking forward to 2024. The GOP’s disappointing showing among independents this year marked […] Read more »

Warnock Slightly Ahead in Georgia’s U.S. Senate Runoff

Incumbent Democratic U.S. Sen. Raphael Warnock has an apparent lead over GOP challenger Herschel Walker in the race that will decide the final balance of power in the chamber, according to a poll released Monday by UMass Lowell’s Center for Public Opinion. The survey found Warnock leads 51% to Walker’s […] Read more »

Public Has Modest Expectations for Washington’s Return to Divided Government

After a second consecutive midterm election that resulted in divided partisan control of Congress, the American public is broadly skeptical that either the president or Republican House leaders will get their programs passed into law. Most U.S. adults say President Joe Biden (65%) and Republican leaders in Congress (61%) will […] Read more »