A new post-election survey revealed that President Biden was a significant factor in moving critical groups of voters to support Democratic candidates in the midterm election.
Navigator Research tweeted findings from their post-election survey:
STRONG BIDEN MIDTERM SUPPORT:
At least seven in ten union workers (77%), Black voters (75%), and Hispanic voters (70%) say that @POTUS was a factor in their vote, and each group strongly supported Democratic congressional candidates.https://t.co/HoA3iCsJe7
— Navigator Research (@NavigatorSurvey) November 18, 2022
Not only did President Biden get key Democratic constituencies out to vote, but he also had a positive approval rating with these voters that got them to support Democratic candidates:
KEY FINDING:
While slight majorities of Hispanic voters (53%) and Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders (54%) approved of Biden’s job handling, greater shares voted for the Democratic Senate candidate (60% among Hispanic voters; 67% among AAPI voters). pic.twitter.com/WcSD7Ky2jh
— Navigator Research (@NavigatorSurvey) November 18, 2022
Even voters who somewhat disapproved of Biden voted for Democrats:
KEY FINDING:
While slight majorities of Hispanic voters (53%) and Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders (54%) approved of Biden’s job handling, greater shares voted for the Democratic Senate candidate (60% among Hispanic voters; 67% among AAPI voters). pic.twitter.com/WcSD7Ky2jh
— Navigator Research (@NavigatorSurvey) November 18, 2022
The most significant factor is voters who made up their minds in the week before the election broke for Democrats:
NEW FROM OUR POLL OF ‘22 VOTERS: Nearly 1 in 4 decided in the last week of the election who to vote for for Congress.
Republicans decisively won among early deciders while voters deciding in the last two months broke toward Democrats. pic.twitter.com/viMN57vY3Y
— Navigator Research (@NavigatorSurvey) November 17, 2022
All Of The Political Conventional Wisdom Was Wrong About The Midterm
The conventional wisdom said that Biden’s approval rating would help Republicans and that the President campaigning in the midterm would hurt Democratic candidates. The pundit class also claimed that late-breaking voters would support Republicandidates.
All of these claims turned out to be wrong.
Biden was rallying Democratic voters, while it was Trump pushing voters away during the campaign’s last week.
President Biden helped Democrats in the midterm by getting voters out to vote. Trump repelled potential Republican voters in crucial swing states with his end-of-election rallies.
Biden’s popularity within the Democratic Party should not be underestimated, as he is one of the reasons why Democrats showed up to vote and prevented a red wave.
Jason is the managing editor. He is also a White House Press Pool and a Congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. His graduate work focused on public policy, with a specialization in social reform movements.
Awards and Professional Memberships
Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association