As Democrats in Congress start 2022 with the midterm elections looming, their own party's voters are signaling they're not motivated to keep them in the majority, at least according to new polling out Friday from Gallup.
According to the latest data, Congress as a whole saw its favorability drop to just 18 percent, dropping by half from its 2021 high of 36 percent in large part thanks to disenchanted Democrats. "The latest five-percentage-point decline in congressional approval is largely attributed to a 10-point decline among Democrats whose frustration appears to be mounting with their party's senators and representatives who hold majorities in both houses of Congress," Gallup reports.
Dem voters have good reason to be miffed after well-seasoned Democrat leaders such as House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) dragged their caucuses to the left in attempts to appease radical segments of their party, moves that resulted in an inability to deliver on major portions of President Biden's legislative agenda.
Even Democrats don't like the Democratic-controlled Congress much these days, according to @Gallup polling: https://t.co/xYOPLcjp3D pic.twitter.com/2bvjw6tpX7
— John McCormick (@McCormickJohn) January 21, 2022
The failures of Democrats in Congress are now reflected in the lack of approval from American voters, and the numbers fell off pretty quickly as Schumer and Pelosi notched repeated losses in attempts to get key Biden campaign promises through their respective chambers. As Gallup notes, favorability for Congress slipped from a high not seen since 2009 to its lowest point in more than one year at the same time Democrat leadership grew increasingly mired in party infighting.
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Gallup explains how Democrats soured on their own party's congressional performance:
...by June, when Congress failed to pass President Joe Biden's infrastructure package by his Memorial Day deadline, Democrats' rating of the body fell below the majority level. After a brief rally above 50% in August and September, Democrats' approval of Congress fell as infighting among Democratic legislators held up passage of Biden's climate change and social spending bill. With Biden's legislative agenda still stalled, Democrats' latest 26% approval of the legislative branch is the lowest it has been in a year.
For Democrats, kicking off a midterm election year with roughly just one-in-four party adherents approving of the job being done in Congress, things look bleak. Gallup translates the writing on the wall:
With the midterm elections less than 10 months away, pressure is mounting on Democratic legislators to deliver for their constituents. Democrats may be vulnerable as approval of the Democratically controlled 117th Congress is at its lowest point, and recent legislative failures, including the inability to pass social spending, climate change and voting rights bills have frustrated their party's base.
Democrats in Congress simply haven't proven they can lead in a way that delivers for President Biden and their party's agenda. Despite having control of the White House, Senate, and House of Representatives, Democrats just haven't been able to notch wins on key 2020 campaign promises. Apart from the Wuhan coronavirus relief and infrastructure packages, Biden's control of two-thirds of the federal government apparently isn't enough.
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