A new CBS News poll predicted Sunday that Republicans would likely take control of the House of Representatives after November’s midterm elections — but the economic questions were the ones that foreshadowed even worse news for President Joe Biden.
The CBS/YouGov Battleground Tracker poll surveyed 2068 registered voters between October 12th and 14th, asking a number of questions about the upcoming elections, the overall state of the economy, and whether or not they were satisfied with the direction the country was heading.
WATCH:
A new CBS News poll shows Republicans are still favored to capture the House, with an estimated 224-seat majority. Democrats had been narrowing the gap, but that momentum has stalled. @debraalfarone is in Washington with details. pic.twitter.com/cTeZ3fntvA
— CBS Evening News (@CBSEveningNews) October 16, 2022
The worst news for Democrats came from the questions about the economy, as 65% of those polled said that they felt like the United States economy was getting worse compared to only 15% who believed it was getting better. Another 20% said that the economy was staying the same.
Another dramatic swing in gas prices were not helping matters either: 63% said that gas prices in their area were going up compared to only 13% who said that gas prices were going down. By comparison, in August 53% said that gas prices were going down and only 16% had said they were going up.
To make matters even worse for Democrats, the majority of those polled said that Democrats and Democrat-led policies were a part of the problem. Nearly half of the respondents (48%) said that Democratic policies had harmed the economy, and just under one-third (29%) said that they had helped.
In addition, just over two-thirds (68%) said that the Biden administration could be doing more to combat inflation — while 29% said that the administration was doing everything that it could.
Nearly two-thirds said that President Biden bore either “a lot” (45%) or “some” (26%) responsibility for the current state of the economy — and well over one-third of respondents (42%) said that Republican policies would likely help the economy.
NEW CBS Poll: Voters hold Biden responsible for the state of the economy. 71% say he bears a lot or some responsibility for an economy that 65% of voters say is getting worse. https://t.co/Aeym2Q8vI8 pic.twitter.com/3oK0dBOohD
— Nathan Brand (@NathanBrandWA) October 16, 2022
Despite receiving another spate of bad economic news earlier in the week, President Biden informed reporters that the American economy was “strong as hell.” He insisted that inflation was a global phenomenon and that things were worse in other countries around the world than they were in the United States.
CNBC anchor Jim Cramer disagreed, however, saying after the latest inflation numbers came out that there was no good news to report.
“It was just plain bad. There’s absolutely nothing to say about it other than it was bad,” he said.
