A new poll from the conservative American Action Network found that the Biden administration is losing support in seven Congressional swing districts, including Washington’s 8th, represented by Rep. Kim Schrier (D).
The poll was conducted at the end of August and surveyed 800 likely 2022 General Election voters in each of the seven districts. The survey was adjusted to match expected turnout demographics for the election.
The poll found that in the 8th Congressional District (CD), which stretches across the Cascades and includes Kittitas and Chelan counties, and parts of King and Pierce counties, Biden’s job approval took a 4% hit. It dropped to a 46% approval rating as compared to a 50% disapproval rating.
Across the seven districts, the most dramatic drop came from the district represented by Rep. Elissa Slotkin (D-MI), where Biden’s approval rating sank 12%. But districts in Iowa, California and another in Michigan also saw support slip as well.
Biden’s approval rating also dropped when those surveyed were asked about the economy (-3%) and foreign policy (-6%). On the economy, 45% approved of his job performance, while 48% disapproved. On foreign policy, 43% approved while 49% disapproved.
Although withdrawing from Afghanistan is supported by 54% of Americans, according to a Pew Research poll, 71% thought Biden’s handling of it was either fair (29%) or poor (42%). In that result, only 7% of Republicans and Republican-leaning independents said they viewed the Biden administration’s performance in a positive light.
Those issues are likely playing into greater support for Republicans in the seven districts. Republicans are ahead in a generic Congressional ballot in Washington’s 8th CD, with 49% saying they would support a Republican challenger, compared to 45% who say they would support a Democrat.
Despite this, 45% of voters said they would vote for Schrier against a named Republican candidate, while only 44% said they would vote for the Republican. The poll results did not state who the named Republican candidate was.
That seems to indicate that the 45% of voters who said they would vote Democrat in the generic Congressional ballot are sticking to their guns, giving Democrats a reasonable base of support in the district. At the same time, even those who may be unhappy with Biden and Democrats writ-large may also not want to be represented by a Republican in Congress — Schrier won the district in the 2020 General Election with 14,700 votes.
Maybe it was just the Republican candidate the poll suggested. The Wire has reached out to Remington Research Group, which conducted the poll, to see if they’ll provide the name of the candidate, and will update this story if so.
Either way, Democrats could still face a tough road in the 2022 national elections with a narrow lead in the House. Currently, Republicans only need to flip five seats that are now seated by Democrats to eke out a win. Redistricting is projected to give an advantage to Republicans nationwide.
Although the 8th CD needs to lose 9,966 residents in this round of redistricting, it’s likely that the status quo will remain in the district.
The full American Action Network poll can be found below:
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