The Democratic Party’s latest round of polling and research gave them an eye-opening look at their chances in the midterms if they don’t successfully push back against GOP attacks on issues ranging from defunding the police to critical race theory.
Some voters in battleground states even described the Democratic Party as “preachy,” “judgmental,” and “focused on culture wars,” Politico reports.
In response, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee is conducting presentations to “endangered members and their teams,” showing the results of their internal polling and focus group findings, urging them to not ignore the attacks.
If Democrats don’t answer Republican hits, the party operatives warned, the GOP’s lead on the generic ballot balloons to 14 points from 4 points — a dismal prediction for Democrats when the GOP only needs to win five seats to seize back the majority. But when voters heard a Democratic response to that hit, Republicans’ edge narrowed back down to 6 points, giving candidates more of a fighting chance, especially since those numbers don’t factor in Democrats going on the offensive. …
The GOP hits are most effective with center-left voters, independents and Hispanic voters, demographic groups that Democrats have struggled to attract in recent years. [...]
Summarizing the party’s midterm problems bluntly, the presentation notes that voters think Democrats “are not making good use of their majority.” (Politico)
One of the slides in the presentation urged Democrats to "demonstrate they fully understand and care about stressors in people's lives" and take on the issues "without stoking divisive cultural debates."
The DCCC is also encouraging incumbents to "correct the record" instead of immediately resorting to counterpunches or changing the subject. Doing so "risks confirming suspicions," they warned.
Further complicating Democrats' chances is the fact that President Biden's approval rating continues to plummet, with the average reaching its lowest point yet last week, at 39.8 percent. Moreover, a majority of voters told one recent CNN poll that "there's literally nothing Biden has done since taking office that they approve of."