Biden approval falls as Democrats brace for medium-term losses -Health & Fitness Journal/Ipsos By Health & Fitness Journal

©Health & Fitness Journal. U.S. President Joe Biden looks up at First Lady Jill Biden after disembarking from Marine One on return to the White House in Washington, United States, November 6, 2022. REUTERS/Elizabeth Frantz

By Jason Long

WASHINGTON (Health & Fitness Journal) – U.S. President Joe Biden’s public approval rating fell to 39% in a Health & Fitness Journal/Ipsos poll on Monday, reiterating expectations by impartial election forecasters that his Democratic Party would be crushed in Tuesday’s midterm elections.

The two-day national poll found American approval of Biden’s job performance had fallen by a notch, nearing the lowest point of his presidency.

Biden’s unpopularity is contributing to the view that Republicans will gain control of the US House of Representatives and possibly the US Senate on Tuesday.

The University of Virginia’s Center for Politics predicted Monday that Republicans would easily win a majority in the House of Representatives, earning a net 24 seats and a narrow majority in the Senate.

Control of only one chamber of Congress would give Republicans the power to stall Biden’s legislative agenda.

Biden’s tenure, which took office in January 2021 amid the COVID-19 pandemic, was marked by the economic scars of the global health crisis, including rising inflation. This year, his approval rating dropped to as low as 36% in May and June.

In this week’s Health & Fitness Journal/Ipsos poll, about a third of respondents cited the economy as the country’s biggest problem, a much larger proportion than about one in 10 who singled out crime. About one in 15 said the biggest problem was the end of national abortion rights after the Supreme Court’s June decision that nullified a nationwide right to abortion.

The Health & Fitness Journal/Ipsos poll, conducted online in English in the United States, collected responses from 1,004 adults, including 424 Democrats and 390 Republicans. It has a confidence interval – a measure of accuracy – of 4 percentage points in either direction.