David Harsanyi writes at National Review Online that Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden is underperforming his 2016 predecessor.
On October 20, 2016:
Hillary Clinton was up 6.8 in the RealClearPolitics average in Pennsylvania. Today, Biden is up 3.8. (that race only tightened to 2.1 in the last week of 2016.)
Clinton was up twelve points in Michigan on that day. Biden is up 7.5 right now.
Clinton was up 6.5 in Wisconsin. Biden is up 6.2.
Clinton was up four points in Florida. Biden is up one point.
Clinton was up 2.8 in North Carolina. Biden is up two points.
Arizona has flipped the other way: Clinton was up 1.5 in Arizona. Today, Biden is up 3.1. Though as you can see, the polling turned dramatically pro-Trump in the week leading up to the election. Trump was also up 5.3 in Georgia in 2016. Today, Biden is up 1.2.
I’m pretty skeptical that Trump is going to lose Georgia, but who knows. I make no pretense at being any kind of election prognosticator. I’ve been assured repeatedly that the polling has been fixed. I am completely willing to believe that Biden will win handily. It could well start breaking his way in the polls next week for all I know. But I also find it inexplicable that so many Democrats seem to believe 2020 is in the bag.
What will happen if more voters consider the practical impact of a Biden win?
One of Joe Biden’s top economic policy priorities could kill as many as two million new jobs, a new report finds.
Biden has championed a $15 minimum wage throughout his presidential bid. The Democrat’s website touts helping “get state and local laws increasing the minimum wage across the finish line” and calls it “well past time we increase the federal minimum wage to $15 across the country.” An analysis from the pro-free market Employment Policies Institute (EPI) found that a nationwide mandate for a $15 minimum wage—more than double the current federal rate of $7.25 per hour—could eliminate millions of jobs within its first six years.