Voter dissatisfaction abounds as most see no signs of an economic rebound.
Large majorities rate the economy negatively, fail to see signs of a recovery, and are generally unhappy with the way things are going in the country. And the unhappiness is now bipartisan, as over half of Democrats join almost all Republicans and independents in being dissatisfied.
That’s according to a Fox News survey released Thursday.
Overall, 75% are dissatisfied with how things are going in the country today, up from 67% in May and 53% in April 2021, around the 100-day point of Joe Biden’s presidency.
Much of the current increase in dissatisfaction comes from Democrats, as 56% are unhappy today, up from 42% in May and 20% in April 2021. That’s a 36-point increase in dissatisfaction in 15 months.
There has been a similar increase among independents: 91% dissatisfied now vs. 65% in April 2021.
More than 8 in 10 Republicans were dissatisfied near the beginning of President Biden’s term (84%) and remain so today (85%).
Overall, fewer voters rate the economy positively now, with just 19% saying it is in excellent or good shape, down from 29% last spring.
Currently 81% give the economy negative marks, which is actually an improvement from 84% last month.
Voters are more upbeat when it comes to their personal finances, yet things are in negative territory here as well: 40% say their finances are in excellent or good shape vs. 59% only fair or poor. A year ago, it was the reverse, as 53% said excellent/good and 46% only fair/poor.
Meanwhile, 85% say grocery prices are still going up and 71% say they don’t see any signs the economy has started to turn the corner.
One point of voter optimism is gas prices. A slim 54% majority sees prices at the pump coming down, and among those voters, the largest number give Biden credit for that (19%). Others say the credit goes to oil companies (13%), public outcry (10%), or that no one should get kudos (10%).
"The Biden administration’s spin that the economy is better than the numbers suggest isn’t getting traction," says Republican pollster Daron Shaw. "But that’s not because people are blindly partisan or ignoring a complex reality. Americans understand that gas prices are coming down, but they’re still much higher than before Biden came into office. And grocery prices haven’t dropped. And they don’t see enough positive change to make them feel better about things." Shaw conducts the Fox News surveys with Democrat Chris Anderson.
President Biden’s job approval stands at 42%, while 58% disapprove. That’s up from a low of 40-59% last month. His highest ratings, 56-43%, came in June 2021.
More than twice as many voters strongly disapprove (40%) as strongly approve (19%), and his disapproval ratings are at record highs among independents (73%), moderates (61%) and voters ages 65 and over (58%).
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The president receives negative ratings across the issues: energy policy (41% approve, 55% disapprove), Russia’s invasion of Ukraine (40-56), foreign policy (38-59), border security (36-61), the economy (32-66), and inflation (27-71). His best rating is on climate change (42-53), and even here he’s underwater by 11 points.
Biden authorized a U.S. military drone strike that on July 31 killed Ayman al-Zawahri, the current leader of al Qaeda and planner of the September 11 terrorist attacks. By a 28-19% margin, voters think killing al-Zawahri makes the U.S. safer. Half say it makes no difference.
While Biden’s 58% disapproval rating is near a high, even more voters disapprove of Republican lawmakers. Thirty-two percent approve of Congressional Republicans, while 64% disapprove. For Congressional Democrats, it’s 39% approve, 58% disapprove.
"While Biden’s approval rating is bad, Congressional Republicans are beating him in the race to the bottom," says Anderson. "Given the historic trend of midterms being a referendum on the incumbent president, Democrats are clearly disadvantaged. But the high disapproval of Congressional Republicans could lead to voters picking between the lesser of two perceived evils.
GOP lawmakers fare worse, at least in part, because more than twice as many Republicans (38%) disapprove of their party as Democrats disapprove of theirs (17%).
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Conducted August 6-9, 2022, under the joint direction of Beacon Research (D) and Shaw & Company Research (R), this Fox News Poll includes interviews with 1,002 registered voters nationwide who were randomly selected from a national voter file and spoke with live interviewers on both landlines and cellphones. The total sample has a margin of sampling error of plus or minus three percentage points.
Fox News’ Victoria Balara contributed to this report.
