Americans sour on the direction of the nation in new NBC News poll
WASHINGTON – A majority of Americans believe the country is headed in the wrong direction, that their household income is falling relative to Cost of living, that political polarization will only continue and that there is a real threat to the nation’s democracy and majority rule.
Furthermore, the nation’s top politicians and political parties are more unpopular than popular, and interest in the upcoming mid-November period is down – not up.
And when Americans were asked to describe where they believe America is today, the top responses were “downhill,” “divided,” “negative,” “struggling,” “losing,” and “terrible”.
Those are the grim findings of a new nation NBC News poll will be conducted less than 10 months before the midterm elections, when control of the US Senate, US House of Representatives and governors’ residences around the country will be contested.
“Downhill, divided, doubting democracy, lagging and adjusting – this is how Americans feel as they head into 2022,” said Democratic pollster Jeff Horwitt of the Alliance. Hart Research Society, who conducted this survey with Republican pollster Bill McInturff said Public Opinion Strategies.
That pessimism and gloom did not help the party control the White House and Congress.
While the poll shows Democrats have a 1-point advantage over Republicans as the party that should control Congress, it also shows President Joe Biden’s job approval rating remains in the range. low age 40, Republicans hold a double-digit advantage in terms of enthusiasm and key Democratic groups lose interest in the upcoming election.
“It’s nothing but flashing red flights and warning signs for Democrats,” said Republican pollster McInturff.
‘Bad news for the ruling party’
According to the poll, 72 percent of Americans say the country is headed in the wrong direction — essentially unchanged from the 71% who held this view in an NBC News poll in October.
It only marked the sixth time in the poll’s history when 70% or more said the country was headed in the wrong direction in ongoing surveys.
“In the three instances when this lingering dark prospect coincided with an election year, it portends bad news for the ruling party – 1992, 2008 and 2016,” said Horwitt, a Democrat pollster.
In terms of the economy, while job creation is up and unemployment is falling, 61% of respondents to the poll said their family income is falling relative to the cost of living.
This compares with 30% who say they are around even and 7% who say their income is growing faster than the cost of living.
Regarding the nation’s political situation, 70% agree that America has become so polarized that it cannot solve the major problems facing the country – and those differences will only continue. continue to develop.
In contrast, 27% agreed with the statement that, despite the nation’s strong partisan differences, the country has always come together to tackle its biggest challenges.
That’s a significant change from the last time this question was asked in 2010 – when 50% said America stands together in difficult times, compared with 45% who said the difference National political differences will only increase.
And on the state of democracy, 76% of Americans – including 7 out of 10 Democrats, Republicans and independents – believe there is a threat to democracy and majority rule in the country. this country.
Looking ahead for midterms
With less than 300 days to go until the midterm elections in November, an NBC News poll found that 47% of registered voters say they prefer a Democratic-controlled Congress, while 46% want it. The Republican Party is in power.
That’s essentially unchanged from October, when Democrats held a 2-point advantage on this question, 47% to 45%.
But Republicans enjoyed double-digit gains due to enthusiasm ahead of the November election, with 61 percent of Republicans saying they’re very concerned about the upcoming midterms – registering just as important. their centroid is 9 or 10 on a 10-point scale – compared to 47 percent. of the Democratic Party, who said the same thing.
In previous midterm cycles – whether 2006, 2010, 2014 or 2018 – whichever side held the double-digit advantage in enthusiasm ended up making substantial gains.
Additionally, overall enthusiasm for the upcoming midterms dropped from 59%, who reported high interest in October, to 51% in the most recent poll.
And some of the biggest declines came from key segments of the Democratic base, including Black voters, young voters and urban voters.
Top problems facing the country
When asked about the two most important issues facing the country, the top answers from Americans were jobs and the economy (42 percent in total), coronavirus (29%), voting rights, and voting rights. electoral integrity (25%), cost of living (23 per cent) and border and immigration security (22 per cent).
Among Democrats, the top issues are coronavirus, voting rights and electoral integrity, social and racial justice, jobs/economy and climate change.
Among Republicans, the top issues are jobs/economy, border security/immigration, taxes and spending and cost of living.
Unpopular politicians and parties
Finally, the NBC News poll found that every politician and political party it examined was less popular with the American public than popular:
- Representative Liz Cheney, R-Wyo: 23% positive, 29% negative (-6)
- President Joe Biden: 39% positive, 48% negative (-9)
- Republicans: 34% positive, 44% negative (-10)
- Donald Trump: 37% positive, 51% negative (-14)
- Democrats: 33% positive, 48% negative (-15)
- Vice President Kamala Harris: 32% positive, 49% negative (-17)
The NBC News poll was conducted January 14-18 on 1,000 adults – including 650 cell phone-only respondents – and the total error was plus or minus 3.1 percentage points.
The margin of error for the poll’s 790 registered voters was plus or minus 3.5 percentage points.
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/meet-the-press/downhill-divisive-americans-sour-nation-s-direction-new-nbc-news-n1287888 Americans sour on the direction of the nation in new NBC News poll
