The Republican electorate appears to be more invested in the 2022 midterms than Democratic voters, with significantly more of the GOP supporters saying that the party that controls Congress matters the most, a new Pew Research Center study, conducted seven months ahead of the midterms, found.
Political analysts note that Republicans are well-positioned to take control of the House and possibly the Senate in the elections this November.
As Democrats hold the House with the narrowest of margins, even if the GOP does flip just a few seats, power could significantly shift in Washington. Meanwhile, the Senate is split evenly, which means even one seat flipping in favor of the Republicans without an equal flip for the Democrats would end Democratic control of the upper chamber.
Seventy percent of Republican voters surveyed by Pew, which polled 10,441 adults in the US in early March, said the November elections will matter greatly. Only 60% of Democrats said the same.
A majority of Republicans also said they view their votes in the upcoming midterms as voting “against Biden,” according to the Pew poll.
The survey found that 71% of registered Republican and Republican-leaning voters think of their vote for Congress this year as a vote against President Joe Biden, compared to 26% who said the president is not much of a factor.
Two percent of Republicans said that they think of their vote for Congress this fall as a vote in favor of Biden.
In contrast, 46% of Democrats and Democratic-leaning voters surveyed say they think of their vote for Congress this fall as a vote for the president, closely tied with 47% of those in the party who believe the president is not much of a factor.
Only 6% of Democrats say they think of their vote for Congress as a vote against the president.
The survey noted that the economy is the top election issue, out of the 15 that were brought up, with about eight-in-ten voters (78%) saying the economy is very important to their vote this fall.
Republicans, the survey showed, are particularly likely to say that the economy is very important to their vote: 90% say this, compared with 68% of Democrats. By comparison, health care is the top issue for Democratic voters in the fall, with 74% saying it is very important to their vote, while just 44% of Republican voters say the same.