Democratic Strategists Speak Out Ahead of Midterms: ‘We’re Going to Get Slaughtered in November’
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A number of Democratic Party strategists spoke to The Hill seven months ahead of the November midterms. One of them concluded the party is doomed.
With record gas prices and four-decade high inflation pricing some Americans out of basic commodities, party insiders weighed in. The consensus was President Joe Biden and Democrats are in serious trouble.
Worried about not only losing a majority in the House, but also in the Senate, top strategists spoke of the issues Democrats face in convincing Americans to turn out and vote for them in the fall.
Bill Galston, who advised former President Bill Clinton, said Biden’s approval numbers can only go so high right now.
“My hypothesis is that, unless and until inflation comes down appreciably, that there’s going to be a ceiling on his job approval that’s a lot lower than the White House wants it to be,” Galston said.
Gallup senior editor Jeff Jones concurred. “High gas prices are one of the biggest anchors on presidential approval,” Jones said.
Biden’s approval rating is hovering at a round 40 percent. The RealClearPolitics average shows 41.0% approve of Biden’s job performance, while 53.8% disapprove.
The Biden administration has repeatedly attempted to attribute pain at the pump to Vladimir Putin’s war on Ukraine. There was a consensus among experts that the message is not helping the president with voters.
“I’m not shocked at all by the numbers because they look exactly what normal looks like,” said Jim Kessler, who is executive VP for policy at the think tank Third Way. “The question is, given a lot of the good news in the country — the jobs numbers, businesses opening, the masks are off, the Russians are in full panic, America is astride the top of the world — can we do better? Can we do better than normal? And I think the disappointment right now is we’re not.”
One strategist who was not named attempted to stamp out any hope Democrats will be able to fend off Republicans at the polls later this year.
“It’s bad,” a person only described as a Democratic strategist said. “You have an energy crisis that’s paralyzing and inflation is at a 40-year high and we’re heading into a recession. The problem is simple. The American people have lost confidence in him.”
“Everyone needs to come to terms with the reality that we’re going to get slaughtered in November,” the Democratic strategist added. “That’s a fact. [Biden’s] polling has gotten worse, not better. It’s indicative of the fact that people have lost confidence in his leadership. There’s nothing they’re going to be able to do.”
