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The good news for Democrats is their commitment to abortion rights resonates across the country and their messages exceeded expectations in off-year elections Tuesday.
The bad news for Democrats is most people don’t like their president and there’s real concern he could be the first Democrat to lose a bid for reelection since Jimmy Carter lost to Ronald Reagan in 1980.
“The country has soured on Joe Biden; there’s just not another way to put it,” said CNN political director David Chalian in sharing results during election night coverage of a new CNN poll conducted by SSRS. Only about 40% of Americans approve of the job Biden’s doing as president and just a quarter think he has the stamina and sharpness to serve effectively.
Concern about his fitness has so far cost Biden in the polls more than former President Donald Trump, despite their relatively close ages and Trump’s own recent verbal slips. More than half of registered voters in the CNN poll said Trump has the strength and stamina to serve effectively.
Plenty of Democrats were already antsy about Biden’s prospects to win reelection. CNN’s poll that shows him trailing Trump will send those concerns into hyperdrive, particularly since Biden has lost support among key Democratic constituencies.
“Biden’s support in the poll is significantly weaker now among several groups that he previously won by wide margins and were critical to his election in 2020,” writes CNN’s polling director Jennifer Agiesta.
From her report:
Among voters younger than 35, 48% support Trump, 47% Biden. Political independents break 45% Trump to 41% Biden. Black voters favor Biden, 73% vs. Trump’s 23%, while Latino voters split 50% Biden to 46% Trump. And…
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