Even a holiday week doesn’t spare the Biden administration from more bad news. After hastily opening the nation’s strategic oil reserves and providing about two-and-a-half days of additional oil, President Joe Biden took off for Nantucket, Massachusetts. There he will spend the holiday in a billionaire’s beach home. It is probably just dumb luck that Massachusetts is one of the five states where Biden’s approval is not upside down.
To spend the holiday in a state where his approval is above water, Biden would need to head north. Vermont is one of only two states where Biden’s approval remains above 50%– at 55%, according to Civiqs survey for Biden’s job approval. The other is a much longer trip to the islands of Hawaii, where he is barely hanging on with 51% approval. Poll Project USA summarized the state-level findings in a chart.
Since October, Biden’s net approval has gone into the red in blue strongholds such as New York and Rhode Island. He maintains a +1 net approval in New Jersey and a +4 net approval in California. His highest net approvals are in Maryland, Hawaii, Massachusetts, and Vermont, mainly because 10% or more of respondents have no opinion on the matter. Biden’s national approval is 37%, with 54% disapproving for a net approval of -17 with130,749 responses through November 23, 2021. In a separate survey with nearly 200,000 responses, Biden has a -14 favorability rating. According to Civiqs, his favorability went negative on January 28, 2021, and has gotten steadily worse since that date.
Looking at the subgroups in the survey, the news for Team Biden is no better. Nationally, the president does not have a positive net approval in any age group. His support is lowest with Americans aged 18-34, a demographic the Democrats have long taken for granted. There is also not a single education level where Biden earns a net positive approval. Even college-educated voters, who increasingly voted Democrat over several election cycles, only reported a 38% approval rating.
Two groups critical to Biden’s win in the Electoral College were women and independent voters. Only 42% of women approve of the president’s performance. Even though Biden still scores higher with women than men, his net approval with women is -5. Independent voters report they disapprove of Biden’s performance 62% of the time, and the net approval in that group is -36%.
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For these Americans, buyer’s remorse could be the most acute. Many voted for Biden because he promised a return to normalcy and unity–and because he positioned himself as a moderate. Since January, he has governed like Bernie Sanders and behaved in ways that show he is determined to divide rather than unite. The country is as divided as it was under President Trump, and the administration hampered the economic recovery with massive spending and horrible energy policies.
No matter how Press Secretary Jen Psaki and the DNC shills in the corporate media try to spin it, Americans are not on a trajectory to do as well economically as they did pre-pandemic. Many are reminded of this every time they fill up their gas tank or go to the grocery store. Most won’t know the full impact of restricting energy production on winter heating costs for several months. Already, 68% of Americans say the economy is bad or very bad, and some producers are announcing more price increases in the coming weeks.
Looking ahead to 2022, Biden still scores positive approval ratings with minority voters. Sixty-six percent of black voters approve of Biden’s performance, and 49% of Hispanic voters do. While this earns him a +47 and +9 net approval, respectively, these rates are lower than Democrats pull historically. They are certainly lower than what Democrats require in those demographics to win elections.
Looking at consensus toss-ups in the Senate next cycle, Biden’s unpopularity could flip the chamber without a significant course correction.
There are no coattails, and candidates in these states cannot leverage the administration’s accomplishments when they go home to campaign. There is already an enthusiasm gap between Republican and Democrat voters, with some analysts blaming the loss in Virginia on this phenomenon. It isn’t easy to get people off the couch when they disapprove of what your party does when given power. The latest numbers for Joe Biden indicate this could well be the case.
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