Gallup Poll: Support for Incumbents Drops Ahead of Midterms Poll (Dreamstime)
By Theodore Bunker | Monday, 11 July 2022 11:45 AM EDT
Americans' support for the incumbent representatives in Congress has dropped over the last two years, according to a new poll from Gallup released on Monday.
The survey shows that while just over half of respondents think that their congressional representatives should be reelected, the percentage fell compared to a similar poll conducted in 2020:
- 53% in 2022 think their representatives in Congress deserve reelection.
- 41% in 2022 think their representatives in Congress don't deserve reelection.
- 60% in 2020 thought their representatives in Congress deserved reelection.
- 35% in 2020 didn't think their representatives in Congress deserved reelection.
In addition, about 1-in-5 said that all members of Congress deserve reelection, while over 1-in-4 said that they do not, and just over one-third said that President Joe Biden should be reelected, with about two-thirds saying he does not deserve another term:
- 21% said all members of Congress deserve reelection.
- 77% said that they do not.
- 33% said Biden deserves reelection.
- 67% said he does not.
Gallup noted that "Biden is not alone among incumbent presidents in lacking public support for a second term during the spring or early summer months of a midterm election year, but his 33% is lower than for others at similar points in their presidencies."
When respondents were asked if the president deserved reelection in the past: former President Donald Trump polled at 37% in April 2018, former President Barack Obama polled at 46% in June 2010, and former President Bill Clinton polled at 40% in April 1994.
Gallup polled 1,015 adults across the U.S. from June 1-20, 2022, with a margin of error of +/- 4 percentage points.