DeSantis more popular with Independents than Biden;
The Zogby Economic index currently stands at 87, a two-point increase since August;
UTICA, N.Y., Dec. 29, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- In our post-election survey of 1,000 Independent voters, who voted in the U.S. midterm election, President Biden did not perform well with Independent voters. 61% disapproved of his job as president (43% strongly and 18% somewhat disapproved combined). Only 37% of Independent voters approved of President Biden (11% strongly and 26% somewhat approved combined).
Based on our national survey of 2,004 voters who voted in the November 2022 mid-term election, conducted right after the election between November 9 and November 11, the index currently stands at 87, a two-point increase since August, and the first upward movement since the beginning of the Biden administration. Thirty-nine percent of voters rated President Biden's performance as 'excellent' or 'good' (a one-point increase since August) and 26% (a one-point drop) gave the same rating to Congress.
Highlights
Job approval
A majority (61%) of Independent voters over the age of 30 disapproved of the president, while only 36% approved.
Some sub-groups remained somewhat positive of the job Biden was doing as president among the nationwide sample of Independents. For instance, large city voters (48% approved/49% disapproved), African Americans, (49% approved/44% disapproved) and suburban females (43% approved/55% disapproved) were slightly more approving of the president compared to the overall sample of Independent voters.
Issues
Younger voters aged 18-29 were much more likely to see reproductive rights (17%) as the most important issue that decided which candidates they voted for compared with the oldest voters surveyed aged 65+ (11%), while the oldest voters surveyed aged 50-64 and 65+ were more likely to view inflation (both 26%) and threats to the democratic process (13% and 20%, respectively) as more important in who they decided to vote for in the mid-term election.
2024 Horse races
In a rematch of the 2020 presidential election, we asked Independent voters who they would vote for between President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump. Both candidates were tied at 38%, while 17% wanted someone else and 7% were not sure.
In another hypothetical 2024 presidential match-up, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis handily beats President Biden (DeSantis led 43% to 34%) among a large nationwide sample of Independent voters. While this doesn't mean the end of Biden, it is a sure indicator that the Florida governor is the real deal.
Economic index
The perception of U.S. foreign policy (34% rate it as 'excellent' or 'good) has also improved four percentage points since August, however, the perception of U.S. economic policy (27%) has stayed virtually unchanged. The shift in support for foreign policy is most notable among Democrats where now 60% rate it as 'excellent' or 'good', compared to 49% in August and 58% in May.
The number of voters who see their own personal financial situation as 'excellent' or 'good' has remained steady at 39%. However, the number of voters who feel very or fairly secure in their jobs and who are fairly or very confident that their children will have a better life than themselves have improved considerably to 77% (a 12-point increase since August) and 55% (a 10-point increase), respectively.
Related Links
SOURCE The Zogby Poll®
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