Biden approval ratings drop in seven key congressional districts: GOP-aligned poll

President Biden’s approval rating is under water in seven key congressional districts Democrats are defending in 2022, according to a GOP-aligned polling group, a sign of possible trouble for the party as it looks to protect its narrow House majority next year.

Polling conducted by the GOP firm Remington Research Group for the conservative American Action Network (AAN) shows Biden’s net approval rating averaging minus 7 percentage points in those seven districts, which span six states.

In California’s 10th Congressional District, where Democratic Rep. Josh Harder is defending his seat next year, Biden’s job approval sits at 44 percent, while 51 percent say they disapprove. He doesn’t fare much better in Michigan’s 11th District, represented by Democratic Rep. Haley Stevens, where his net approval comes in at minus 6 percentage points.

Biden gets his worst job approval ratings in Iowa’s 3rd District and Michigan’s 8th District, represented by Democratic Reps. Cindy Axne and Elissa Slotkin respectively. 

In Iowa’s 3rd District, 43 percent of likely general election voters approve of Biden’s job performance, while 51 percent disapprove. In Slotkin’s district, 42 percent approve and 54 percent disapprove, according to the polling.

Forty-six percent of voters in both Virginia’s 2nd District and Washington’s 8th District say they approve of the job Biden’s doing in the White House, while 50 percent in both districts disapprove. The president performs best in Florida’s 7th District, represented by Rep. Stephanie Murphy (D), where 46 percent approve of his job performance and 49 percent disapprove. 

Biden’s sagging approval numbers across the seven battleground districts are a warning sign for Democrats ahead of the 2022 midterm elections. 

Republicans will likely need to flip only about half a dozen House seats to regain control of the lower chamber next year, and are already expected to get a boost from the decennial redistricting process, given the party’s control in state legislatures in a handful of critical states.

The seven districts polled by Remington Research and AAN are also among the top targets for House Republicans next year. 

While the 2022 midterms are still more than a year away, the polling found a generic Republican challenger in each of the seven districts leading a general Democratic candidate. In California’s 10th District, for instance, a GOP candidate scored 49 percent support while a Democratic candidate notched 42 percent.

Meanwhile, Republicans held 9 point advantages in both Iowa’s 3rd District and Michigan’s 8th District. In both Florida’s 7th District and Virginia’s 2nd District, Republicans led by 3 percentage points. 

The polls were conducted from Aug. 28 to 30 and surveyed 800 likely 2022 general election voters in each of the seven congressional districts. The margin of error for each is 3.2 percentage points.