U.S. President Joe Biden delivers remarks on deficit reduction from the Roosevelt Room on the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., October 21, 2022.
Sarah Silbiger | Reuters
President Joe Biden predicted Friday that voters will swing back to favor Democrats within the remaining weeks before the midterm elections as concerns over the economy ease.
“Forwards and backwards, with them ahead, us ahead, them ahead, forwards and backwards. The polls have been everywhere,” Biden said, speaking on the White House. “I feel that we will see yet another shift back to our side within the closing days.”
Democrats hope to carry their majorities in each chambers of Congress for the ultimate two years of Biden’s first term. The party is clinging to a small majority within the House, and holds the slimmest possible edge in a 50-50 Senate.
Polls have recently favored Republicans as concerns over the economy have eclipsed abortion. A Latest York Times/Siena College poll released Monday found voters favor Republican control of Congress by a margin of 4 percentage points.
The gap, which fell throughout the survey’s margin of error, marked a shift from a month ago, when Democrats were favored to manage Congress.
The poll found economic topics just like the stock market and jobs were voters’ top issues, as 26% said it was their biggest concern, followed by inflation at 18% and abortion and immigration each with 5%.
Approval for Biden generally and his handling of the economy rose within the third quarter, in response to the CNBC All-America Economic Survey released Thursday, with each improving 10 percentage points from the last poll in July. The survey found respondents favored Republicans over Democrats to manage Congress by a 2 percentage point margin. The advantage fell throughout the survey’s 3.5 percentage point margin of error.
The CNBC survey also found Republicans scored higher on voter preference for economic issues, with double-digit leads on the questions of who would do a greater job bringing down inflation, handling taxes, coping with deficits and creating jobs.
But Biden, speaking in regards to the federal deficit’s drop to $1.38 trillion in fiscal yr 2022 from the 2021 deficit of $2.78 trillion as pandemic-era spending fell, stressed the economic tides were shifting.
“Let me inform you why,” Biden said. “I feel that we’re beginning to see a few of the excellent news on the economy. Gas prices are down sharply in 46 of the 50 states due to what I have been doing. We’re moving in the suitable direction and there is more to return.”
The president argued that GOP proposals would further increase the deficit and that the U.S. is simply starting to feel the results of his economic policies.
“The election will not be a referendum, it is a selection,” Biden said. “Republicans can criticize my economic record but take a look at what I’ve inherited and what I’ve done. Look what they’re offering.”
