After beating the odds Nov. 8, Democrats are likely to grow complacent with their party’s status quo — an attitude that Republicans can capitalize on to win big next election cycle.
Analysts are still trying to decipher why Democrats were able to outrun the cratering economy, a border crisis, and worsening crime to score a win. Some say it was the abortion issue gaining momentum among voters after Dobbs, especially those young and female. Others point to flawed polling methods. Still others claim mass mail-in balloting is skewing voter turnout towards Democrats. Others say lack of “candidate quality” hurt Republican chances.
Whatever the answer to these multi-faceted questions may be, it is obvious that Democrats did not do well Tuesday night because of their flaws, but in spite of them. (RELATED: POLL: Christopher Columbus More Popular Than Biden Among Hispanic Voters)
Biden remains an extremely unpopular president. Polls over the summer showed the president’s popularity at consistent lows. In a July poll, only 36% of voters approved of Biden’s job as president. A month later in August, that percentage was still at only 38% according to another poll. Even Democrats rejected their own party’s most high ranking politician, as a June Fox News poll found that 18% of Democrats registered to vote disapproved of Biden’s job as president, a new high for his presidency at the time.
The Democrats “have defied history”. The moment: pic.twitter.com/8CcWzzxU1i
— Mike Sington (@MikeSington) November 13, 2022
The Daily Caller contacted all 50 Democrat Senators in June and asked if they would support the president in his bid for re-election in 2024, and only 5 responded in the affirmative.
“The shocking thing about this year (assuming the current trends hold) is that Biden is quite unpopular,” CNN noted days after the midterms. “His approval rating was 44% in the exit polls. His favorable rating was 41%.” (RELATED: Federal Judge Strikes Down A Key Part Of President Biden’s Transgender Agenda)
After the midterms, Biden is riding a high of support from his party, reversing previous trends. After Tuesday night’s performance, Democrats don’t see as much reason to reconfigure their party, and oust its leader, as they once were. But maybe they should be.
As I said yesterday, Joe Biden is going to double down on everything. No lessons learned. Just triumphalism. Which means Democrats are treating 2022 as a massive win rather than as a bullet dodged. But 2024 may disabuse them of that notion quickly if the GOP can get serious. IF.
— Ben Shapiro (@benshapiro) November 10, 2022
Ultimately, the midterms were not a referendum on Biden, despite the assurances of talking heads. It was a referendum on the individual down-ballot candidates, with Biden’s reputation only casting a dim shadow over the proceedings. For whatever reason, Democrats were able to escape that shadow, but they may not be so lucky next time around, especially if trends on the economy, the border, and crime continue. (RELATED: California Passes Amendment By Massive Margins To Enshrine A ‘Right To Abortion’ In The State’s Constitution)
Americans didn’t stop caring about these issues. Republicans simply did a bad job of proving to voters that they were the best men for the job. Meanwhile, Democrats are desperately hoping that Republicans make the same mistake twice, and that they can cruise into victory under the unassuming Joe Biden again in two years.
While a majority of Democrats wanted a candidate other than Biden to run in 2024 in a September poll, now the party is singing a different tune.
“I think Joe Biden is exactly what we needed,” Democrat Rep. Jim Clyburn said on MSNBC Monday. “And I think he’s what we need for 2024 as well.”
Rep. Jim Clyburn (D): “I think Joe Biden is exactly what we needed…And I think he’s what we need for 2024 as well.” pic.twitter.com/ewyB8VtahP
— Daily Caller (@DailyCaller) November 14, 2022
Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren, who has criticized Biden in the past, was praising Biden later on Sunday after the midterms, saying that the Democrat’s “victory” belongs “to Joe Biden.” (RELATED: DeSantis Admin Official Blocks DOJ From ‘Observing’ Florida Elections)
“It belongs to Joe Biden and the Democrats who got out there and fought for working people,” Warren told MSNBC’s Chuck Todd. “The things we did were important and popular.”
Delaware Democrat Senator Chris Coons chimed in, saying the Democrat’s midterm performance makes Biden the party’s best choice for 2024.
“Boy, he literally had the Democratic Party across the country at every level, state, local, congressional, it had the best midterms of any Democratic president since J.F.K.,” Coons said. “It’d be hard not to look at that and say, ‘OK, there’s still a role, there’s still a path, there’s still important things to do.’” (RELATED: Judge Refuses To Enact Restraining Order Against Group Accused Of Voter Intimidation Campaign)
Democrats are running a risky strategy for the next campaign season if they stay loyal to Biden. Perhaps the midterms really did prove that voters don’t care all that much about a president who gaffes on the national stage every time the cameras turn on him. But at the end of the day as with most elections, it’s still the economy, stupid — and the economy isn’t getting any better under the current president.
