An insider report published on Wednesday paints a dismal picture for a Democrat Party that was already facing a dismal 2022 election cycle.
According to Punchbowl News, Democrats know that they are in worse shape than they are admitting in public:
House Democrats may be in worse political peril than they’ve let on publicly.
During a Thursday luncheon last week with DCCC Chair Sean Patrick Maloney, Frontline Democrats – the party’s most endangered lawmakers – were told that, in battleground districts, the generic Republican is beating the generic Democrat, 47-39, according to lawmakers, multiple party officials and the DCCC.
This is a stunning margin and highlights the incredibly perilous position Democrats find themselves in.
Given that Democrats generally have a three- or four-point built in advantage on the generic ballot, this is a particularly concerning development for Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s majority. An eight-point deficit on the generic ballot could be a sign of a wave for House Republicans.
Rather than focus on issues that poll after poll show most voters (in both parties) care most about — inflation, gas/diesel prices, shortages including baby formula, the porous border — Democrats have set upon a strategy to try and demonize “MAGA,” former President Donald Trump’s ‘Make America Great Again’ 2016 campaign theme.
But so far anyway, that doesn’t seem to be working out, according to Punchbowl’s report:
Biden’s deep unpopularity and the political ditch Democrats find themselves in is also evident in private polling conducted by the Congressional Leadership fund, the Kevin McCarthy-linked super PAC.
CLF polled 16 districts that Biden won by an average of eight points. They found that the president’s job approval rating is eight points underwater, and the generic ballot is tied.
In other words, Republicans contend that seats that Biden won by eight points are now “toss-up” districts. Districts polled include seats held by Reps. Abigail Spanberger (Va.), Kim Schrier (Wash.), Mike Levin (Calif.), Kurt Schrader (Ore.), Angie Craig (Minn.), Susie Lee (Nev.) and Jahana Hayes (Conn.).
Schrader was being beaten handily on Tuesday night by a progressive challenger, making the seat an even more attractive target for Republicans.
Adds HotAir: “The DCCC poll results may still underestimate the problem. First, the most recent Monmouth poll puts the GOP up seven points overall, not just in battleground districts. has Dems down 3.5 points, and that has looked stable for months now.”
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