Another poll has been released that looks very bad for President Joe Biden. This poll suggests that a majority of Americans are becoming more upset with the way Biden handles the struggling American economy. As compared to when Biden took office, an increasing number of Americans are unhappy with the way he handles the economy.
Biden claimed to make historic gains on video:
According to a poll of ABC News/Washington Post released Sunday, Republicans lead Democrats by 16 points when it comes to confidence in handling the economy as a whole and by 19 points when it comes to handling inflation. At the same time, 62% of respondents say abortion is a major problem.
There are other issues that distinguish the parties as well. Besides the economy, Republicans are likely to focus on crime in the final weeks of the campaigns. They lead by 14 points in confidence in addressing it, and it is very important to 69%.
By contrast, Democrats hold a large 23-point advantage in confidence to deal with climate change, though it’s very important to many fewer, 50%. When it comes to the issues of education and immigration, the parties are very close. Democrats +6, very important at 77%; and immigration, basically an even split, very important at 61%, based on a report by the NY Post.
According to a combination of importance and party preference, inflation and the economy lead, followed by abortion, crime, education, and immigration.
In the poll, 74% say the economy is in bad shape, compared to 58% in the spring after Biden took office. After falling for nearly 100 consecutive days during the summer driving season, regular gasoline prices in the U.S. rose for the sixth consecutive day this week to $3.725 per gallon.
84% of respondents called the economy a major problem before the November midterm elections, while 74% said the same about inflation. The Fed has raised interest rates to combat record inflation.
On a broader scale, Americans are equally split, 42-42%, as to which party they trust most to address the major issues facing the country in the coming years. This contrasts with an average 5-point lead for Democrats on this issue in more than 100 ABC/Post surveys since 1982.
However, in terms of what was accomplished, Biden fared slightly better, with 40% saying he has accomplished a lot as president, compared with 35% last fall. This is generally a lukewarm measure; for the four presidents in the 11 previous polls since 1993, the average was 43%.
Concerns about a recession are looming after the interest rates were raised last week by the U.S. Federal Reserve in an effort to curb inflation, which is decades high.
The Fed last week raised its benchmark rate, which impacts large parts of consumer and business lending, to a range of 3% to 3.25%. It had been hovering near zero at the beginning of the year. By the end of the year, the Fed forecasts its benchmark rate to be 4.4%, one point higher than expected in June.
In addition, Democrats have something to hold onto. Their current results are better than last November, when Republicans had a 10-point lead over Democrats in national House voting preferences, 51% to 41%. This represented the largest mid-term Republican lead in ABC/Post polls in the last 40 years.
This story syndicated with licensed permission from Frank who writes about political news stories. Follow Frank on Facebook.