Recent polling has been showing potential trouble for Democrats everywhere as the critical 2022 midterm elections are approaching.
As discussions about the continued viability, or lack thereof, of Joe Biden as president heat up week by week, Vice President Kamala Harris’s favorability looks as bad as it ever has. Biden has seen his approval rating fall from 56 percent in June to 50 percent as of July 21.
The latest YouGov poll findings show Harris has an unfavorability rating close to double her favorability. Real Clear Politics and the Daily Caller have her unfavorability sitting at 46 percent.
As Democratic candidates for every House seat and 34 Senate positions scramble for endorsements from the party elites, Harris may become seen as more of a liability than an asset on the campaign trail.
The Hill reported that a confidential source with access to the vice president said, “No one is coming out and saying she’s doing an amazing job, because the first question would be ‘On what?’ She’s made a bunch of mistakes, and she’s made herself a story for good and bad.”
The report continues:
Vice President Harris has some ground to make up in order to be perceived more favorably by the public, a complicating factor for the Biden administration as it maps out its midterm strategy.
Six months into office, polls indicate Harris is viewed less favorably than President Biden. She has also made some tactical missteps outside of the White House that Democrats say show she hasn’t quite yet found her bearings.
Vice presidents historically do not outperform the leader at the top of the ticket. But her lower ratings haven’t gone unnoticed.
“As of right now, I think she has the potential of doing more harm than good for some of these candidates,” said one Democratic strategist. “My sense is she’ll probably raise a lot of money, and maybe she’ll go to some specific districts, but they’ll have to be really strategic with her.”
“She doesn’t have the standing at this moment to go to a lot of these tighter districts,” the strategist added.
Progressives face some poor signals throughout the country leading into the midterms, Harris’ personal issues notwithstanding. Increased and prolonged inflation, a lagging economy, completely unpredictable COVID-19 problems to come, the threat of another lost year of public education, and several other issues are all aligning in a negative way against the Democrats.
