The poll by the Senate Opportunity Fund asked respondents which president they believed had the best first year. Biden was tied for third place with former President George W. Bush. The survey is the latest poll to find Americans take a dim view of President Biden, and also showed Republicans slightly ahead of Democrats on the generic congressional ballot ahead of the midterm elections this November.
When respondents were asked which of the last four presidents had the best first year in office, just 12 percent chose Biden. A further 34 percent said former President Trump had the best first year in office, while 32 percent chose former President Obama.
Biden was tied with former President Bush on 12 percent. The 9/11 terror attacks took place during Bush’s first year in office.
The survey found that 61 percent of likely voters believed the country was on the wrong track, compared to 33 percent who thought the U.S. was going in the right direction, and 5 percent who didn’t know or had no opinion. Forty-eight percent of respondents said they disliked Biden, compared to 47 percent who liked him, but the poll also found that opposition to the president stood at 54 percent, while 44 percent supported him.
When respondents were asked if they believed the state of the union was strong, 57 percent said no while just 33 percent said yes. Biden will deliver his first State of the Union address before a joint session of Congress on March 1.
The Senate Opportunity Fund poll also contained some good news for Republicans as they led the generic congressional ballot with 45 percent to the Democrats’ 42 percent, while a further 13 percent of respondents didn’t know who they would support or had no opinion. The figures are consistent with other recent polling that shows the Republicans leading the Democrats heading into the crucial midterms, where the GOP is aiming to retake both the House of Representatives and the Senate, and potentially stymie Biden’s agenda.
The Senate Opportunity Fund poll also asked respondents if they believed Democrats were “focusing on YOUR top priorities.” As of January 11, some 53 percent of respondents said no. Just 36 percent of those polled said the party was focused on their priorities.
The Senate Opportunity Fund is a not-for-profit organization “established to advance and support conservative policies and solutions through research, issue advocacy, and communications,” according to its website. The poll was conducted from February 8 to 10 among a national likely voter sample of 800 people, with a margin of error of +/-3.5 percent.
