Immigration Surpasses Inflation as Top Voter Concern — and Most Say Border Worse Under Biden: Poll; Immigration Overtakes Inflation As Biden’s Worst Issue Among Voters in Latest Poll: A Winning Issue for Congressional Republicans — But They Must Act, Which They Haven’t Done Thus Far

Immigration surpasses inflation as top voter concern — and most say border worse under Biden: poll:

Immigration has surged past inflation as the top issue facing the nation, according to a Harvard CAPS-Harris poll released Monday

The survey found that 35% of registered voters now rank immigration as the country’s No. 1 concern, jumping 7 points since last month.

Worries over price increases and the economy weren’t far behind, with 32% citing inflation as the most pressing issue in the US and 25% listing the “economy and jobs” as a top concern.

The immigration concerns have increased since the Biden administration reported a record-breaking 276,000 migrant encounters along the southern US border in December.

Increased focus on the issue also comes as lawmakers from both sides of the aisle work to hammer out a deal that would unlock some $61 billion in aid for Ukraine in exchange for beefed-up border security and changes to the US immigration system, including asylum laws.

Most voters – 68% – said they wanted measures in place that would make it tougher to get into the country illegally. Half of Democrats – 50% – agree with ramped-up security measures as well. —>READ MORE HERE

Immigration Overtakes Inflation As Biden’s Worst Issue Among Voters in Latest Poll:

A winning issue for congressional Republicans — but they must act, which they haven’t done thus far

The latest poll from Yahoo! News and YouGov is out, and it is absolutely brutal for President Biden. He received negative marks across the board, but in a switch from earlier polling, “immigration” has now overtaken “inflation” as the incumbent’s worst issue among registered voters. This provides an opening for a GOP seeking big wins in the 2024 elections, but if the party wants to cash in on the electorate’s displeasure with the president’s immigration and border policies, congressional Republicans must act — which they’ve failed to do thus far.

That poll was conducted between November 9 and 13, and surveyed 1,584 American adults, including, most critically, 1,062 registered voters. The margin of error was +/- 2.8 percent.

Biden Job Approval Generally. The bad news for the White House starts right from the jump, with just 38 percent of those polled approving of the president’s handling of his job (a mere 13 percent “strongly” approving) compared to 56 percent disapproving (42 percent “strongly”).

There is, of course, a partisan split on the question, with 78 percent of Democrats approving of the job that Biden is doing compared to just 6 percent of Republicans. Conversely, 19 percent of Democrats disapprove of Biden’s handling of the position, with 93 percent of Republicans concurring with that take.

That leaves Independents, and they are likely not as “middle of the road” on the issue as the president would like. Just 29 percent of the politically unaligned approve of Biden’s handling of his job, while 65 percent disapprove (46 percent “strongly”).

Biden does both better and worse among registered voters, with 40 percent of those ready to head to the polls approving of the job he is doing and 58 percent disapproving (again, 46 percent “strongly” disapproving).

Biden’s Handling of Inflation. At least part of the electorate’s grumblings over Biden’s job performance likely has something to do with the ongoing spike in inflation. Among American adults as a whole, it’s where he received his lowest ratings, as 61 percent of respondents disapproved of Biden’s handling of price jumps (47 percent “strongly” so), compared to just 30 percent who approve (11 percent “strongly”).

The picture for the White House is a little brighter, however, among registered voters, but not by much. Some 62 percent of those prepared to cast a ballot disapprove of the job that Biden is doing to bring costs down (50 percent “strongly”), but on the flip side, 33 percent of this cohort approve of what Biden is doing to tackle inflation (14 percent “strongly”).

Thus, Biden is only 29 points in the red on inflation amongst those who will decide whether he stays at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue for another four years or instead he will be headed back to Wilmington (and Rehoboth) come January 20, 2025.

Biden’s Handling of Immigration. Which brings me to immigration.

In the Yahoo! News/YouGov poll, 59 percent of respondents overall disapproved of Biden’s handling of immigration (43 percent “strongly”) compared to 31 percent of those polled who approved of the job the president is doing in addressing the subject (a meager 8 percent “strongly” so).

That’s a 28-point difference for the incumbent on the downside, but the story doesn’t end there.

Biden’s doing one point better on the plus side of the ledger among those who are actually registered to vote, with 32 percent of respondents in that cohort approving of Biden’s handling of immigration (with again, however, just 8 percent “strongly” approving).

The problem for the president, however, is that he is three points further in the red with the registered voters polled than with U.S. adults as a whole, with 62 percent of the former disapproving of Biden’s handling of immigration (48 percent “strongly”). That creates a 30-point deficit for the president when it comes to immigration, just slightly edging out inflation as Biden’s worst issue among registered voters. —>READ MORE HERE

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