Biden, Democrats face trouble with independents

President Biden and fellow Democrats head into a congressional election year seriously “out of step” with Americans on dozens of key issues, according to a Republican-leaning polling outfit, which has a year’s worth of data to prove it.

OnMessage Inc. says that on 50 questions, culled from polling done from February to September and covering everything from how Americans view systemic racism to election integrity to border security, the country is trending away from stances that Mr. Biden defends.

By more than 2-to-1, voters in a June poll rejected the idea that “White Americans are inherently racist whether they know it or not,” and the U.S. is “inherently a racist country,” because of White privilege and slavery.

And voters, by a 53-33 margin, said ensuring elections free of voter fraud was more important than making it as easy as possible for people to vote. Two-thirds of voters backed the idea of requiring an ID to vote, and disagreed with Democrats’ legislation that would effectively ban states’ voter ID requirements.

A September survey of suburban voters found a significant majority who said Mr. Biden “is to blame for the increased amount of illegal immigration.”

OnMessage said the data should help toss Democrats “out of office next year.”

Perhaps most troubling for the Biden team is that independents, on issue after issue highlighted by the polling, tend to look at things the same way as Republicans.

On welfare spending, for example, a June poll found 87% of Republicans and 68% of independents said “overly generous” programs are keeping people from going out and looking for work. Just 30% of Democrats felt the same.

Most Republicans and independents rejected the idea that America is poisoned by “systemic racism.” But a majority of Democrats said Americans “are inherently racist.”

On voting, 70% of independents and 95% of Republicans say showing ID to cast a ballot makes sense. Just 40% of Democrats thought so, according to the March poll by OnMessage.

The Washington Times is a client of OnMessage.

Surveys by other pollsters have found similar divides.

An Economist/YouGov poll earlier this month found a majority of independents — 56% — say their views align more with Republicans, compared to 44% that align more with Democrats.

And an NPR/PBS NewsHour/Marist survey earlier this week found that just 29% of independents approve of the job Mr. Biden is doing.

“That has to be a major warning sign for the White House, considering Biden won 54% of independents in the 2020 presidential election, and they appear to have soured on him,” NPR said.

The White House on Wednesday brushed aside grim polling on economic issues.

“We’re going to be driven by policies. We’re not going to be driven by the ups and downs of the polls,” said White House press secretary Jen Psaki.

Mr. Biden, should he run for reelection, won’t be on a ballot until 2024. Democrats on Capitol Hill are who will face voters next year, and polling shows independents favoring Republican candidates in their local races.

A Politico/Morning Consult poll released this week gave the GOP a 31-25 advantage among independents in what’s known as the generic ballot question — though 44% said they were undecided, suggesting room for Democrats to make a better sales pitch over the next 10 months.

ABC, whose polling also saw skepticism among independents, found just 40% approved of Mr. Biden’s handling of the economy, 38% were behind his approach to taxes and 27% backed him on inflation.

In follow-up interviews with ABC, independents signaled their disillusion with the president runs deeper than issues.

“He doesn’t take a stand for things, he’s not a crusader. I think that hurts his ability to establish his message,” Roger Bonnie, 56, from Ohio, told ABC News.

Caitlyn Crelin said she voted for a third-party candidate in 2016, but backed Mr. Biden in 2020 to oust former President Donald Trump.

“At this point, I would have been 100% happier with Trump,” she told ABC.