Most Democratic Party supporters believe President Joe Biden should not run for a second term. Such conclusions follow the results of a new opinion poll released Monday, conducted by the Public Relations Research Center (NORC) commissioned by The Associated Press.
Only 37% of Democrats want Biden to run for a second term, according to the poll. In October 2022, weeks before the midterm elections, Biden’s re-election was backed by 52% of Democratic Party supporters.
While Biden often talks about his legislative victories and his ability to govern, the poll shows that a relatively small number of Americans give him high marks on any of those issues. During clarification interviews with respondents, it turned out that many consider the age of the president, who is 80, a significant disadvantage, adding that the most responsible position in the world is more suitable for young politicians.
Democratic candidates did better than expected in the last midterm elections. As a result, the “red wave,” spoken of by Republicans, who hoped to gain control of both houses of Congress, did not occur.
Asked about the results of the Associated Press poll at a Monday press briefing, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said the results of last year’s election mattered more than presidential approval ratings.
“We should look at it as we saw it halfway through,” Jean-Pierre said, noting that the relative gains for Democrats were “because the president … spoke directly to the American people.”
Overall, 41% of Americans approve of how Biden is handling his job as president, the poll found, which is similar to numbers recorded late last year. Most Democrats still approve of Biden’s performance as president, but their support for his re-election has dwindled despite Democratic electoral gains. Only 22% of Americans overall think the president should run again, compared to 29% who said so before last year’s midterm elections.
The dwindling number of Democrats pushing for Biden to run again appears to be concentrated among young people. 49% of Democrats ages 45 and older believe Biden should seek a second term (58% of those in that age group said the same in October).
Yet among those under 45, only 23% agree with the idea of Biden’s re-election (before the midterm elections, 45% of young people shared this view).
Biden, who is already the oldest president in US history, is constantly asked about his age. If re-elected, he will be 86 at the end of his second term.
Biden has repeatedly stressed in his speeches that it’s important for the public to know about his administration’s accomplishments, which he attributes to several legislative victories, including measures to fight the coronavirus, a bipartisan infrastructure bill , a law on semiconductor manufacturing and taxation. and spending measures that will help fight climate change and improve the efficiency of the Internal Revenue Service.
However, only 13% of those polled are confident in Biden’s ability to achieve important political goals, perhaps reflecting the fact that he now has to work with a Republican majority in the House of Representatives who want to cut spending in exchange. an increase from the government. debt ceiling.
The poll also showed that only 23% of Americans are “largely” confident that Biden will be able to lead the White House effectively. That figure is down from 28% a year ago and remains well below 44% two years ago when Biden took office.
Only 21% are confident in Biden’s ability to weather the economic crisis, which is slightly lower than in March last year (26%).
When it comes to working with Republicans in Congress and managing government spending, about half of those polled said they “almost” don’t trust the president, and only about 1 in 10 say they have a complete confidence in him on this issue.
Republicans’ stark rejection is hurting Biden’s ratings. However, the main hurdle for him could be articles from Democratic voters, like Vikram Joglekar, 46, who works in the computer industry in Austin, Texas. He backed the president in 2020, but now he doesn’t express enthusiasm for his candidacy.
“It’s not up to me to decide whether someone should show up or not,” Joglekar said in an interview with pollsters. – I don’t know who will be on the ballot, but I hope [от Демократической] the party will have someone better.
The survey, conducted Jan. 26-30, included 1,068 people using a sample based on the AmeriSpeak NORC model, which is designed to represent the entire US population. The sampling error is plus or minus 4.2%.
