The latest NPR/Marist poll should send Democrats screaming in panic
On Friday, NPR/Marist released its Generic Congressional Polling, which also looks at Biden’s standing (because presidents affect Congressional races). The results are startling. It’s not just that it gives a +3 advantage to Republicans, despite more Democrats (31%) than Republicans (28%) being polled. It’s that demographic groups that the Democrats have owned for decades—Hispanics and the young—are shifting Republican.
You can see the polling results for yourself here. I’ll just break down a few of the results that I found most interesting.
When asked whether they approved of Joe Biden’s job as president, 41% approved, 51% disapproved, and 8% were unsure. It was no surprise than 86% of Democrats approved while 91% of Republicans disapproved. However, what really tipped the scale is the fact that 58% of Independents disapproved, as against 35% who approved.
Whether rich or poor (i.e., more or less than $50,000 annually) those disapproving of Biden had an edge. Thus, 47% of people earning less than $50,000 annually disapproved of Biden while 55% of those earning more than $50,000 annually approved.
Whites gave Biden a 55% disapproval rating. Blacks still support Biden but, considering that he’s a Democrat and should be receiving support from about 90% or more of Blacks, it’s telling that he received only an anemic 64% approval from them. If Blacks abandon the Democrat party, that may spell the party’s end.
But wait, you say. What about all those Hispanics the Democrats have been bringing into America? Well, Democrats may regret that decision. According to the poll, 55% of Hispanics—the same percentage as Whites—disapprove of Biden’s performance.
I’m not surprised. Hispanics work extremely hard, so they want a good economy. They’re traditionalists about family, so they’re going to be hostile to the LGBTQ++ agenda from the Dems. And they’re still more religious and pro-life than your average Democrat, which will also turn them away from Democrats’ abortion obsessions.
The age demographic should worry Democrats too. While Biden is desperately chasing the youth vote with his vague sort-of promises to wipe out all $1.5 trillion or so in student loan debt, the young don’t like him. Whether people are over 45 or under 45 years old, 51% of them disapprove of Biden’s performance. And here’s the kicker: Of the under 45 crowd, only 35% approve, while 46% of those over 45 approve.
The real stunner is that it’s the younger generations who dislike Biden the most: 48% of Gen Z/Millennials disapprove; 57% of Gen X disapprove; and 51% of Baby Boomers disapprove; Only the Silent/Greatest approve, with 41% disapproving.
Image: The Capitol by Martin Falbisoner. CC BY-SA 3.0.
It seems the young’uns have the same problem as the Hispanics: Many don’t want to live on their parents’ couches and they do want the American dream. They can see that Biden’s policies are blocking those goals.
While women (shamefully, as always) love a leftist, with 48% approving of Biden, 61% of households with children under 18 disapprove of Biden. And again, it makes sense: Parents want their children to have a real future, not a welfare future.
Biden still gets strokes from many folks for his handling of the COVID virus, but I think that’s pretty clearly a result of the fact that the media is praising him, while they excoriated Trump. That is, while people can generally see that Biden is a disaster, they’ve always been dependent on the media for news about COVID.
There are also fascinating data in response to the question about voting for a generic Democrat or Republican for Congress. Once again, Republicans have the edge, with Independents breaking for Republicans (45%), as well as Hispanics (52%), Gen Z (46%), Gen X (50%), Baby Boomers (48%), and parents with children under 18 (60%).
In addition to generally favoring Republicans, the GOP also has the edge on the economy, controlling inflation, crime, national security, and immigration. Sadly, Democrats seem to hold the edge on education, abortion, and voting rights. On some of the social issues (e.g., LGTBQ++), most people didn’t really care. They should, though. As Andrew Breitbart understood, “politics is downstream from culture.” If you don’t value fetal lives, why should anyone care about people killed in crimes?
I’ll end with my favorite numbers from the poll: The Republicans win hands down on gun policy, and by significant margins. My guess is that, as Democrats’ crime policies explode, more and more people realize that, when seconds count, the police may not come at all. You must be ready to defend yourself against an armed robber with more than leftist platitudes.
Overall, the polls are still close enough (the margin of error is plus or minus 3.7%) that, if Republicans get cocky now, they can still lose. There is no time, ever, that’s a good time to give up the fight.