By Mark
Murray
WASHINGTON — An overwhelming majority of Americans believe the country is headed in the wrong direction, that their family income is falling below the cost of living, that political polarization is brewing and that there is a real threat to democracy.
In addition, the nation's leading political figures and parties are more unpopular than popular, and interest in the upcoming midterm elections in November has dimmed rather than increased.
When Americans were asked to describe where they think the United States is today, the top responses were "downhill" and "struggling."
They also used adjectives like “divisive”, “negative”, “lost” and “bad”.
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Those are the grim findings of a new national poll by NBC News, sister network of Noticias Telemundo, conducted less than 10 months before the midterm elections, when control of the Senate and House of Representatives and the offices of governors in the whole country will be at stake.
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“Downhill, divided, doubting democracy.
this is how Americans feel heading into 2022,” said Democratic pollster Jeff Horwitt of Hart Research Associates, who conducted this poll with Republican pollster Bill McInturff of Public Opinion Strategies.
That pessimism and sadness is not helping the party that controls the White House and Congress.
While the poll shows that Democrats enjoy a narrow 1-point lead over Republicans as the party that should control Congress, it also shows that President Joe Biden's job approval rating remains in the 40s, Republicans have a double-digit lead in enthusiasm, and key Democratic groups have lost interest in the upcoming election.
“There is nothing but flashing red lights and warning signs for Democrats,” said McInturff, the Republican pollster.
'Bad news for the ruling party'
According to the poll, 72% of Americans say the country is headed in the wrong direction, essentially unchanged from the 71% who held this view in the October NBC News poll.
"In the three cases where these sustained dismal results coincided with an election year, it heralded bad news for the ruling party: in 1992, 2008 and 2016," said Horwitt, the Democratic pollster.
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As for the economy, while job creation has increased and the unemployment rate has decreased, 61% of respondents said their family income is falling below the cost of living.
30% said that their income goes hand in hand with the cost of living and only 7% said that it increased above the cost of living.
On the state of politics in the nation,
70% agree with the statement that the United States has become so polarized
that it can no longer solve the main problems facing the country, and that those differences will continue to grow.
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In contrast, 27% agree with the statement that despite the nation's strong partisan differences, the country always comes together to solve the biggest challenges.
That's a significant change from the last time this question was asked in 2010, when 50% responded that the United States always comes together in tough times, versus 45% who said the nation's political differences would only grow.
And on the state of democracy, a staggering 76% of Americans, including 7 in 10 Democrats, Republicans and independents, believe there is a threat to democracy.
A look at the midterm elections
With less than 300 days to go before the November midterm elections, the NBC News poll found that 47% of registered voters said they prefer a Democratic-controlled Congress, while 46% want Republicans in charge. .
That's essentially unchanged from October, when Democrats held a 2-point lead on this question, 47% to 45%.
But Republicans are enjoying a double-digit gain in enthusiasm ahead of the November election, with 61% of Republicans saying they are very interested in the upcoming midterms, registering their interest as 9 or 10 in a 10-point scale, compared to 47% of Democrats who say the same.
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At similar times in the past, whether it was 2006, 2010, 2014 or 2018, the party that had a double-digit lead in enthusiasm ended up making substantial gains.
Additionally, overall enthusiasm for the upcoming midterm elections has dipped from 59% indicating a high level of interest in October to 51% in this most recent poll.
And some of the biggest drops are coming from key segments of the Democratic base, including black voters, young voters and urban voters.
The main problems facing the country
When asked about the top two issues facing the country, Americans' top responses were jobs and the economy (42% combined), coronavirus (29%), voting rights and electoral integrity (25 %), cost of living (23%), and border security and immigration (22%).
Among Democrats, the top issues were coronavirus, voting rights and electoral integrity, social and racial justice, jobs/the economy, and climate change.
Among Republicans, the top issues were jobs/economy, border security/immigration, taxes and spending, and the cost of living.
Unpopular politicians and parties
Finally, the NBC News poll found that all political figures and political parties tested are more unpopular than popular with the American public:
Rep .
Liz Cheney
, R-Wyo.: 23% positive, 29% negative (-6)
President
Joe Biden
: 39% positive, 48% negative (-9)
The
Republican Party
: 34% positive, 44% negative (-10)
Donald Trump
: 37% positive, 51% negative (-14)
The
Democratic Party
: 33% positive, 48% negative (-15)
Vice President
Kamala Harris
: 32% positive, 49% negative (-17)
The NBC News poll was conducted from January 14-18 with 1,000 adult respondents. The overall margin of error is 3.1 percentage points.