In new polling from Morning Consult and POLITICO, the portion of the public indicating approval for Joe Biden’s job performance hit its highest level since May in this particular pollster’s figures.
In the latest numbers, 43 percent of overall respondents indicated they approved, and 55 percent shared disapproval. The number of Democrats sharing approval of Biden’s job performance grew by three percentage points, from 76 percent to 79 percent, in the time since the Inflation Reduction Act was passed in the Senate, which preceded the House passing the measure and Biden signing it). (Figures are rounded.) The Inflation Reduction Act is a so-called budget reconciliation deal that didn’t require any Republican votes to pass. It included, among an array of high-profile provisions, the largest single investment by the U.S. government in fighting climate change in history, an aim accomplished through means like new federal support (in the form of tax credits) for electric vehicles and using renewable energy in the production of electricity.
In the new Morning Consult numbers, Democrats led Republicans by five percent when respondents were asked which major party’s candidate they would most likely support in this year’s Congressional elections. Democrats nabbed 47 percent of the support, while Republicans had 42 percent. It’s the biggest lead for Democrats in results for that question since last October.
As the November elections approach, Democrats can point to the recent outcome of a Congressional election in New York as evidence the party could outperform polling to the point of upsetting an expected outcome. (Certain forecasts suggest Republicans hold a better chance of controlling the House after the midterms.) In a closely watched Hudson Valley race, all major polling cataloged by FiveThirtyEight showed the GOP candidate, Marc Molinaro, winning. In the end, Democratic contender Pat Ryan won, meaning he’ll serve the remainder of the last term of Rep. Antonio Delgado (D-N.Y.), who left to become New York’s lieutenant governor. Ryan and Molinaro are both running again for a full term, although amid the reshuffling of district boundaries following redistricting, they are running in different districts this November.
Biden’s approval rating also rose in polling from Rasmussen Reports, hitting the highest level since last September. In recent numbers dated August 22, 47 percent of respondents indicated approval, and 52 percent shared disapproval, as reported on this site. A full 24 percent of the overall total indicated they strongly approved of Biden, although 43 percent of the collective total shared strong disapproval. In Rasmussen numbers dated September 7, 2021, the overall approval and disapproval levels were the same, with only slight variations in the overall total specifically indicating strong approval or strong disapproval. A full 44 percent of overall respondents shared strong disapproval, while 27 percent shared strong approval for the president’s job performance in those September 2021 numbers.
