Savannah Hulsey Pointer, FISM News
Republicans have gained a significant lead in the voting favor of the American people ahead of next year’s midterm elections, according to most recent polling data. In an ABC News/Washington Post poll released on Sunday, the statistics showed that Republicans have garnered more than a 10-point lead in overall party preference among likely voters. the poll also reveals that President Joe Biden’s approval rating continues to seek new lows.
Many experts believe that Republicans could take back both houses of Congress, if current trends continue. ABC’s poll shows that Republicans hold the largest lead ahead of midterms that has been seen in the last four decades, reminding Democrats of just how far they would have to go to hold on to their current majority in both houses.
While it’s not unusual for Congress to change majorities in the middle of a presidential cycle, Biden’s public relations issues are not helping his party’s efforts to stay in power. The president’s job performance rating has hit a new low, with the ABC poll showing that it currently stands at 41 percent, with 53 percent of likely voters disapproving of the president. This number is an 11-point decrease in approval since just the spring of this year.
According to the poll 51 percent of registered voters would support a Republican candidate, while only 41 percent would back a Democrat if midterms were to occur today. ABC cited that this is the “biggest lead for the Republicans in 110 ABC/Post polls to ask this question since November 1981.” The question only reflects a generic preference for party platforms, without any potential for campaign efforts to zero in on problem areas impacting the voters’ answers.
The GOP is increasingly hopeful that they could regain control of both houses in 2022 following the off-year election results from this year. National Republican Senatorial Committee chair Sen. Rick Scott predicts, “We’re going to take back the Senate, absolutely. We’re going to do unbelievably in 2022 because we have the right message.”
Republican National Committee chair Ronna McDaniel touched on Biden’s approval rating trajectory, telling Fox News this past weekend, “Democrats should be worried. It comes down to Biden.”
Both Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) and Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) made similar statements with the latter saying that “The elections this week were enormously consequential,” and McConnell saying that “the fall of ’22 is likely to be a very good election for Republicans… I think the wind is going to be at our back in both the House and Senate.”
In order to take control of the Senate, Republicans need a net gain of just one seat, while they would only need a gain of five seats to regain ownership of the 435-member House chamber.