Poll: Voters Have ‘Biden Remorse,’ Republicans Lead in 85 Battleground Congressional Districts

The National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) released a Democrat-damning poll report on Tuesday, showing the GOP leading on the generic ballot in 85 battleground congressional districts, 43 percent to 40 percent.

“It is not just that the Biden honeymoon is over. Voters are now having “Biden Remorse” due to Democrats’ incompetence,” according to the report, which was conducted October 16-21, 2021, among 1,000 voters.

President Joe Biden’s overall approval has flipped from 51 percent approve –45 percent disapprove in July to 45 percent approve – 51 percent disapprove in October. According to the report, the shift in approval is “almost entirely coming from independent voters,” a segment which played a pivotal role in getting him elected. Thirty-nine percent of independents approve and 54 percent disapprove of Biden’s performance, the report states.

According to the poll:

Many of the groups that powered Biden to the presidency have now soured on him, as he is underwater with Hispanics (-5 percent) and college-educated white voters (-3 percent). A majority of voters (53 percent) do not believe Joe Biden is competently running the country. Among independents, 62 percent do not believe Biden is competent.

Republicans now lead across 85 battleground congressional districts “as a result of Democrats’ incompetence,” according to the report, which found that the GOP is leading with independents by eight percent (35 percent GOP – 27 percent Democrat). Republicans have also swayed college-educated white voters who supported Biden in 2o2o by 3 percent (44 percent GOP – 41 percent Democrat). Furthermore, Republicans continue to gain ground with Hispanic voters — the generic ballot in battleground districts shows Republicans and Democrats tied 42 percent to 42 percent in this demographic.

“Republicans have a decisive advantage on the issues most important to voters,” according to the poll.

When voters were asked to list the top issues they would like Biden and Congress to hone in on, they listed jobs and the economy (16 percent), border security (15 percent), and inflation/cost of living (12 percent). Notably, other polls have found that voters are extremely disappointed with Biden’s leadership in these areas. 

Republicans, according to the poll, “have an advantage among voters on which party can best handle these issues,” an advantage which has increased since the summertime. 

“Among independents, Republicans have a +37 percent advantage on the border, +24 percent advantage on making the country prosperous, +18 percent advantage on jobs and the economy, and +9 percent advantage on cost of living,” the report states.

Overall, the report concluded that “voters understand the negative consequences of Democrats’ policies.”

In battleground districts, 59 percent of voters say government is doing too many things compared to 35 percent who would like the government to do more. The trend is even stronger among independents, 62 percent of whom think the government is doing too much versus 31 percent who want more action.

Voters also thinks Democrats’ agenda will “raise their own taxes,” a sentiment which has grown 6 percent from 51 percent in July to 57 percent in October as Democrats smooth out their final proposal. 

“More importantly, 66 percent of voters say the Democrats’ proposed spending will increase their own cost of living, while just five percent say the bill would bring their cost of living down,” according to the report.

In addition to voters’ belief that Democrats are over-legislating spendthrifts, voters do not think Democrats do a good job enforcing laws that already exist.

“A majority (52 percent) of voters say Democrats do NOT enforce our nation’s laws, especially regarding violent crime, the border, and illegal drugs,” the report found.

Fifty-eight percent of voters also believe the “defund the police movement” which is widely supported by Democrats, has caused crime to go up. In contrast, voters trust Republicans to “keep American communities safe from crime” by 13 percent (45 percent GOP – 32 percent Democrat).