Christian Datoc of the Washington Examiner highlights bad polling news for President Biden’s re-election bid.
Some Democrats are quietly fretting about President Joe Biden’s precipitous drop in support among critical voting demographics, and they believe the president must act to solidify his base heading toward the 2024 election.
A Monday poll from USA Today/Suffolk University showed Biden slipping with black, Latino, and young voters, three critical legs of his 2020 winning coalition. Though the Biden campaign and White House routinely wave off such polls, multiple Democratic campaign operatives familiar with Biden’s reelection strategy tell the Washington Examiner that the president has real cause for concern.
“What we’re seeing now is the beginning of a five-alarm fire,” one Democratic operative explained. “President Biden is underwater on his handling of the economy, and it’s increasingly hard to hide that, even when the alternative is someone like [former President Donald] Trump. Yes, the economy is slowly starting to recover, but people are still under enormous strain. This isn’t the time for platitudes and promises for the future. Voters need to see concrete action, otherwise there’s a real chance he loses this thing.”
“President Biden was incredibly productive during his first three years in office, but he still has yet to deliver fully on promises made on the campaign trail,” a second Democratic strategist added more optimistically. “Voting rights. Wealth equity. Gun violence. Student loan debt. Protecting the climate. These are all issues that disproportionately impact voters of color, but they’re also problems that can’t be solved overnight. President Biden hasn’t forgotten about these topics, but it’s natural that voters will feel anxious, given the uphill battle Biden faces with the MAGA-controlled House.”
Young voters particularly have soured on the president over his handling of Israel’s war in Gaza, something a third veteran Democratic strategist said appeared unlikely to change anytime soon given Biden’s long-held support for Israel.
