The Democrats’ chances of retaining the House and Senate are becoming less and less likely due to all-time record high metrics within midterm polling, according to a Sunday survey by NBC News.
Seventy-one percent of registered voters say the nation under Democrat rule is on the wrong track, a record high disapproval. Only 20 percent say the nation is on the right track.
Fifty-seven percent disapprove of President Joe Biden’s management of the economy, a record high. Only 38 percent approve.
Fifty percent say the Democrats’ economy will get worse, another record high. Only 20 percent believe the economy will improve.
The poll sampled 1,000 registered voters from October 14-18 with a 3.1 margin of error.
Even worse for Democrats, the sagging economy is the number-one midterm issue for voters. According to a Wednesday Politico/Morning Consult poll, 81 percent of voters say the Democrats’ economy will be a “major” factor in how they vote. Eighty percent say the same about inflation.
Americans have been significantly impacted by inflation. The soaring costs mean that after adjusting for inflation, wages for American families are down $6,000 under Democrat rule, a Heritage Foundation study revealed. That is an increase from an earlier estimate that put the decline in real wages at $4,200.
The economic pain appears to be having an impact in individual races throughout the nation, even in solid blue areas. On Monday the Political Cook Report moved Democrat Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) chairman Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney’s (D-NY) district from “Lean D” to “Toss Up.” The potential defeat of the DCCC chief, whose job it is to keep the House under Democrat control, would be a historic upset.
In New York, the state’s gubernatorial race is a toss up between Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) and Rep. Lee Zeldin. In fact, Zeldin has a slight lead over Hochul in a recent poll. If Zeldin pulls off the upset, Zeldin would be just the second Republican governor of the state since 1975.
Republicans have also expanded the map in Washington State, where Republican Senate candidate Tiffany Smiley is within the margin of error of 30-year incumbent Sen. Patty Murray (D-WA). The University of Virginia Center for Politics has put the race on “upset alert.” Smiley has managed to out-raise Murray by nearly double in the third quarter ($6-3.3 million).
Additional polling suggests that every Senate battleground state is in play for Republicans, though Democrats are well behind in states they need to retake, such as Florida, North Carolina, and Wisconsin. In contrast, Republicans are performing well in Nevada, Georgia, and Ohio. Pennsylvania, New Hampshire, and Arizona are all within the margin of error with still 17 days until election day.
Follow Wendell Husebø on Twitter @WendellHusebø. He is the author of Politics of Slave Morality.