The Democrats are not only in disarray when it comes to these upcoming midterms, they're downright delusional. On Monday, The Hill published "Doomsday political scenario takes shape for Democrats," outlining as others have before, how the forecast is indeed looking quite poor for the Democrats these upcoming November midterms, now less than four months away. What makes it an even worse situation, though, is how out of touch with reality the Democrats are.
While the U.S. Senate is considered something of a toss-up, it is largely predicted that Republicans will win back control of the U.S. House of Representatives. The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) has the arduous task of limiting the losses as much as possible. A spokesperson was interviewed for the piece, with the mention that the Democratic Party "does not appear concerned, arguing that Biden’s waning approval will not jeopardize down-ballot candidates."
"Frontline Democrats remain untethered from President Biden’s approval rating and consistently perform ahead of the generic ballot despite the global challenges we face because Democrats are defending the right to an abortion, have delivered record-high job creation and infrastructure investments that voters have demanded for years," Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee spokesperson Chris Taylor said in a statement for The Hill.
There has been some uptick for Democrats on the generic ballot, but FiveThirtyEight's Nate Silver has acknowledged it is too soon to tell, and says predictions still overall favor Republicans. Even Jennifer Rubin at The Washington Post admitted that the post-Dobbs decision bump for Democrats may not last.
Despite what Taylor may want to focus on, voters are concerned with issues such as inflation and gas prices, which does not fare well for Democrats.
"Any Democrat who believes Biden won’t hurt down-ballot races should quit working in politics. Vulnerable Democrats, like Abigail Spanberger, won’t even utter Biden’s name on the trail because his failed agenda is so toxic," Camille Gallo, a spokeswoman for the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) said in a statement for Townhall.
Rep. Abigail Spanberger is a Democrat running in Virginia's 7th Congressional District, whom the DCCC designated as one of its first frontline members, meaning she's particularly vulnerable. As Leah covered last month, the congresswoman said during an appearance on Fox News that she doesn't even want to campaign with President Joe Biden.
"I intend to do the campaigning myself,” Spanberger replied. “I am the candidate. It’s my name on the ballot. Certainly, when I first ran, I ran in an R+7 district, and I won in that seat by getting out and speaking to voters," she said. Spanberger wouldn't even say if she'll support Biden for re-election, as she's focused on these midterm elections. "I'll be focused on 2024 after we get through the 2022 elections," she also said.
Spanberger will face Yesli Vega in November, who was just endorsed by E-PAC, founded by Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY), who serves as the House Republican Conference Chair.
The Hill also mentioned Spanberger's refusal to campaign with Biden in its report, as well as Rep. Tim Ryan (D-OH), who will face JD Vance when it comes to running for Ohio's open Senate seat currently held by retiring Sen. Rob Portman, a Republican.
More bad news for the president and Democrats comes in the form of particularly damning poll results from The New York Times/Siena College, as Guy covered on Monday.
As The Hill mentioned:
The high prices of daily essentials, a gloomy appraisal of what’s happening around the country, and the prospect of more impending losses are leaving Democrats more concerned than ever about their odds in November.
“Democratic leadership should look no further than the fact that they need to wake up and step up to the plate,” said Jon Reinish, managing director at the political strategy firm Mercury.
While the idea that Democrats need to brace for a potential fall wipeout is not new, Monday’s poll highlights a trend that many see as particularly damning — a majority of registered Democratic voters are not happy with the overall direction of the U.S. under Biden’s leadership and they are not on board with another four years of it.
Sixty-three percent of Democrats polled said the country is headed in the wrong direction, while only 27 percent said it is on the right track.
“They’re not just losing Independents or you know, Never-Trump Republicans,” said Reinish, referencing two blocs that helped Biden establish a diverse coalition in 2020. “They’re losing their own voters. Democrats’ own voters don’t feel as if their leaders hear their concerns.”
Particularly worth noting, as trends have highlighted for months, is the mention that Biden is losing support among members of his own party.