One in three independents say Biden should be more conservative: poll

Thirty-three percent of independent voters say President Biden should be more conservative, according to a Bipartisan Policy Center-commissioned survey from Morning Consult released on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, 19 percent of independent voters said they believed Biden should be more liberal, according to the survey.

The findings also showed that 35 percent of independent voters said Democratic members of Congress should also be more conservative, while 22 percent said they should be more liberal. Thirty-seven percent of independents said Democratic members of the House should be more conservative, and 22 percent said they should be more liberal.

As for Republican lawmakers, 28 percent of independents said GOP senators should be more conservative, while 33 percent said the party’s senators should be more liberal. Thirty percent of independents said GOP House members should be more conservative, while another 32 said they think they should be more liberal. 

The findings come hours before Biden is slated to deliver his first State of the Union address to Republican and Democratic members of Congress. Biden’s Democratic allies are facing an uphill climb ahead of the midterms with his approval ratings dropping and Republicans gaining traction on the generic ballot. 

Overall, the poll found that all voters were more likely to say that Biden and members of Congress from both parties should be more conservative rather than liberal.

Thirty-four percent of all voters said Biden should more conservative, while 30 percent said he should be more liberal. Thirty-seven percent said GOP senators should be more conservative, while 31 percent said they should be more liberal. Thirty-five percent said Democratic members of the Senate should be more conservative, while 32 percent said they should be more liberal.

In terms of the House, 39 percent of voters said the GOP side of the body should be more conservative, while 31 percent said they should be more liberal. Thirty-eight percent said Democrats in the House should be more conservative while 30 percent said they should be more liberal. 

The Bipartisan Policy Center-commissioned survey from Morning Consult was conducted Feb. 18-20, 2022 among 2,005 registered voters. The margin of error is plus or minus two percentage points.