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Will the Republican Party Get Its Act Together After Seeing These Polls?

Rebecca Downs
Rebecca Downs  |  October 06, 2023 2:15 PM

It has been a chaotic week for House Republicans, as eight joined every Democrat to oust Kevin McCarthy as the Speaker of the House on Tuesday after Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) filed a motion to vacate the chair on Monday night. The subsequent headlines have accused Republicans of being in disarray, which the Democrats have taken advantage of. They've even managed to make it about themselves and their so-called successes and sense of unity. It didn't have to be this way.

Numerous other headlines were buried, including less than favorable coverage of Democrats and President Joe Biden himself. There's also been good news for Republicans in the form of poll results. This includes a Gallup poll, as Spencer covered on Tuesday, showing that Americans favor Republicans over Democrats to "keep the country prosperous" by double digits, 53 percent to 39 percent. 

There's more good news for the Republican Party out of the poll, given that the spread is even larger when it comes to how 57 percent of Americans "believe the Republican Party will do a better job of keeping the country prosperous over the next few years," compared to 35 percent who say as much about the Democratic Party.

The poll's write-up highlights more good findings:

Republicans’ 14-percentage-point lead in public preferences for keeping the country prosperous is up from a 10-point margin last year and is its widest advantage on this measure since mid-1991...

...

The GOP’s current standing with Americans is even stronger on matters of national security, where it leads the Democratic Party by 22 points for protecting the country from international terrorism and military threats.

The Republican Party has led on this measure in all but two readings in the trend originating in 2002, but today’s margin is one of the widest in that more limited stretch of time.

Guy covered a round of polls earlier on Friday when it comes to that Gallup poll, as well as those from NBC News and Marquette University Law School, wondering, "Will This New Poll Send Ripples of Anxiety Through the Democratic Party?" Given the state of the Democratic Party and the gaslighting they engage in, who knows?

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That last poll shows former President Donald Trump up 51 to 48 percent among registered voters and 51 to 49 percent among likely voters. The +3 spread is included in RealClearPolitics' (RCP) average of polls, where Trump overall has a spread of +1.1 against Biden.

There are many findings from the poll that should translate to cautious optimism. Voters were asked how they thought Trump or Biden would handle a series of issues, eight in total. Trump had a lead on five of them, four of them being double-digit leads.

When it comes to who would handle the economy better, Trump has a +24 lead, as a majority of voters, 52 percent, think he would do a better job, while just 28 percent say the same for Biden. Those numbers are exactly the same on immigration and border security. They're similar on inflation, where Trump has a +23 lead, as half of voters say he would do a better job, while just 27 percent say the same about Biden.

Trump's +19 lead on job creation, 49 percent think he'd do a better job compared to the 30 percent who say the same about Biden, is significant considering Biden and members of the administration are constantly repeating the fact-checked lie that the administration has created a record high number of jobs. As has been fact-checked multiple times, including by Mia, the Biden administration did not create all of those jobs. People returned to work after businesses that were shuttered due to the pandemic reopened.

Although not by much, Trump still has a lead on his handling of foreign relations. Forty-three percent think he'd do a better job, 38 percent say the same about Biden. It should maybe be higher given that the Abraham Accord took place under Trump's term and Russia's Vladimir Putin waited until after Trump left office to invade Ukraine, but a lead is a lead.

Biden has a lead of +20 on climate change, with 44 percent saying he'd do a better job over Trump's 24 percent. Fifteen percent say they'd do about the same, and 18 percent say neither. While the margin isn't surprising given how much of a pet issue it is for the left, it is surprising that Biden can't get a majority on this.

The president also has a +9 lead on abortion, another issue the left prioritizes. The Democratic Party also lies about its support for abortion on demand throughout all nine months of pregnancy without legal limit while demonizing Republicans, and it doesn't help that the pro-abortion mainstream media completely covers for them. Still, Biden can't get a majority on this issue either. Only 43 percent say he'd handle it better, while 34 percent say Trump would. Nine percent say they'd handle it about the same, and 14 percent said neither. 

Biden also has a paltry +2 lead on handling Medicare and Social Security. Thirty-nine percent think he'd do a better job, while 37 percent say the same about Trump. Eleven percent say they'd handle it about the same, while 12 percent say neither. Given how much the president is always falsely claiming that Republicans will come after such benefits, that's a pretty pathetic lead.

As hopeful as these polls may be, nothing can be taken for granted because it's worth reminding that the polls looked good for the Republican Party in 2022 yet no red wave materialized. The Republican Party needs to figure out why and correct the situation if it wants to win in 2024. With those numbers, as well as how particularly favorable the Senate map looks for Republicans, it shouldn't be that hard, though it likely is incredibly necessary to preserve not just the Republican Party's values but what polls show Americans agree with as well.

Republicans not only need better messaging to drive that point home because they can't take anything for granted, but because of the messaging that the Democratic Party, including and especially the president, is engaging in. 

As mentioned above, Biden loves to repeat the fact-checked claim that Republicans want to take away Social Security and Medicare. But this is only one way in which he's demonized his political opponents as "MAGA Republicans" and so-called extremists. That speech Biden gave in Philadelphia outside Independence Hall with that ominous, red backdrop comes to mind.

"Donald Trump and the MAGA Republicans represent an extremism that threatens the very foundations of our republic," he claimed. "There is no question that the Republican Party today is dominated, driven, and intimidated by Donald Trump and the MAGA Republicans, and that is a threat to this country."

When analyzing the situation the morning following Election Day regarding why the red wave never materialized, former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich (R-GA), offered that this tactic worked in the Democrats' favor. 

"Much as I think it's despicable, the Biden strategy of demonizing Republicans, and attacking Republicans, and defaming Republicans, I think did have an impact and will probably become the definition of the Democratic Party," Gingrich stated.