With little over three months to go until the midterm congressional elections, President Joe Biden's approval rating is in the mid- to low-30% range, alarming Democrats who are looking to maintain their tenuous hold on Congress.
According to a new Quinnipiac University survey, just 31% of respondents approve of Biden's performance as president, which is an all-time low for the national poll and is down considerably from his February 2021 high of 50%.
Biden's Quinnipiac rating represents a 2-point drop from the 33% approval rating he received from voters in two polls in June.
"It's certainly not the lowest presidential approval rating ever, but it is a very concerning one for the White House," Quinnipiac University polling analyst Tim Malloy told the Washington Examiner.
According to Gallup's Presidential Job Approval Center, if Biden's approval rating falls below 30%, he would join the likes of former Presidents Harry Truman, Richard Nixon and George W. Bush.
RealClearPolitics has averaged the president's approval rating at 37%, but a Des Moines Register-Mediacom Iowa poll published this week found that only 27% approve of the job Biden is doing — the second-lowest rating measured by the poll.
Marist College poll director Barbara Carvalho told the Examiner that her July poll measured Biden's approval rating at 36% — the lowest it's recorded for his administration.
"That said, historically, when we look at midterms, it's 40% that is the 'danger' yard line for the incumbent president," she said. "Thirty percent became the new 40% due to Trump's low approval ratings."
According to Carvalho, Biden's Marist poll approval rating dropped 4 percentage points — from 40% in June to 36% in July — "mostly due to dissatisfaction among Democrats."
"Dems perceive a lack of intensity on the president's part to take on issues such as abortion, guns, climate change, etc.," Carvalho to the Examiner. "The top issue for Democrats is abortion, and issues which follow for Dems are Jan. 6, guns, healthcare and then inflation."
"Republicans and independents, particularly Republican-leaning indies, are driving concerns about inflation," she added. "Top issue for 37% of Americans in same poll and 57% of Republicans."
Carvalho also said the midterms will be decided one of two ways. Either voters will decide that Biden is "irrelevant" and vote for Democrats because they are spurred on by the issues, or frustration with Biden and Congress will suppress Democrats' turnout and economic issues will boost Republicans'.
Republican National Committee Spokesman Will O'Grady told the Examiner that the Democrats' prospects in November look bleak.
"Democrats may look for any reason to duck Biden, but voters know that Democrats rubber-stamped Biden's $1.9 trillion boondoggle that caused historic inflation, record high gas prices, and skyrocketing prices on everyday goods," he said. "Every Democrat is a Biden Democrat, and they will feel the full weight of Biden's miserable approval numbers in November."