Biden’s Approval Rating ‘Underwater’ as Re-election Loom: CAPS-Harris Poll

A new Harvard CAPS-Harris poll, released Friday exclusively to The Hill, reveals that Joe Biden’s approval rating is underwater as he prepares for a potential re-election campaign.

According to the poll, only 42% of respondents “strongly” or “somewhat approve” of Biden’s job as president, with 12% of Republicans, 76% of Democrats, and 34% of independents expressing approval.

This approval rating has remained unchanged since December and has dropped one point since November.

However, the survey also found that 52% of respondents approved of Biden’s handling of the coronavirus pandemic, and 46% approved of his efforts to stimulate job growth.

But only 36% approved of his handling of inflation, 37% approved of his handling of immigration, and 38% approved of his handling of the economy.

Mark Penn, co-director of the Harvard CAPS-Harris Poll argued the economy and immigration are big challenges for Biden’s approval rating and his potential re-election campaign, and recent classified document issues have further complicated matters.

“The economy and immigration continue to be weak spots for Biden and on top of that has come the classified document imbroglio that has taken away the post midterm glow. His state of the union is a critical speech for him and whether he will reach across the aisle,” he said.

The survey also found that 61% of Americans believe the country is on the wrong track and 66% believe the economy is on the wrong track.

Biden’s potential re-election campaign has also been complicated by revelations that classified documents from his time as vice president were found at an old office he used at the Penn Biden Center, in addition to his home in Wilmington, Del. The president has stated, “there’s no there there,” but his administration has faced scrutiny over why these documents were not made public sooner.

The latest Harvard CAPS-Harris Poll survey, a collaboration between the Center for American Political Studies at Harvard University and the Harris Poll, was conducted Jan 18-19 among 2,050 registered voters.

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