Politics

‘Extremely Alarmed’: Strategists Break Down Major Red Flag For Democrats In Latest Polling

REUTERS/Craig Hudson

Reagan Reese White House Correspondent
Font Size:

A polling anomaly in the latest numbers from the New York Times and Siena College has Republican strategists predicting more good news to come for the GOP.

The NYT and Siena released a survey Monday showing former President Donald Trump leading President Joe Biden across five key swing states: Nevada, Georgia, Arizona, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin. Of registered voters, 33% said they would vote for Biden if the election was held in May with Trump getting 40% of the vote.

But while Biden trails Trump by a healthy margin, the down-ballot races are a different story. Senate Democrats are doing much better across the same states states, with 45% of voters choosing Democrats as opposed to 40% of voters choosing Republicans.

The numbers could paint a rosy picture for Senate Democrats, but several strategists told the Daily Caller it could be fool’s gold, adding that an unpopular Biden could affect Democrats down ballot as the election goes on.

“It shows you the depths of disappointment that most voters have with Biden, whether they’re Democrats or Republicans. There’s just a lot of disappointment in Biden. If I were Biden, I would be extremely alarmed by this gap that you’ve got voters out there saying, ‘yeah, I’d like to vote for this Democratic senator, but not Joe Biden.’ That is a huge red flag for them,” longtime Kentucky Republican strategist Scott Jennings told the Daily Caller.

The president has faced a string of poor polling that shows him losing matchups to Trump both nationally and across key swing states. Biden is also dealing with a poor approval rating, as Americans stress they are focused on the economy and border crisis.

While the NYT poll shows Democrats winning state races, having a weak Biden that voters aren’t excited about could doom other Democrats relying on the president to generate turnout, communications adviser Mark R. Weaver told the Daily Caller.

“One thing a poll doesn’t simulate is turnout. So if Joe Biden is weak at the top of the ticket, we have two problems for the Democratic party. First one is he’s weak at the top of the ticket. He’s likely to lose,” Weaver said.

“But problem number two for the rest of the ticket is when the top of your ticket is weak, it depresses turnout of your base. So those people who are senators who are scoring higher in the poll in the cross tabs, that’s with people who got on the phone or got online and took the poll. That’s not measuring that many of them won’t actually show up to vote for that Democratic senate candidate because they’re so depressed or disillusioned with Joe Biden,” Weaver added.

Former U.S. President and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump attends a campaign rally in Wildwood, New Jersey, U.S., May 11, 2024. REUTERS/Evelyn Hockstein/File Photo

Former U.S. President and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump attends a campaign rally in Wildwood, New Jersey, U.S., May 11, 2024. REUTERS/Evelyn Hockstein/File Photo

In those Senate races highlighted in the poll, the Democrats outperforming Republicans include Arizona’s Ruben Gallego, who leads Kari Lake by three points, and Bob Casey, who is two points ahead of Dave McCormick in Pennsylvania.

In Wisconsin, Tammy Baldwin is ahead of Eric Hovde by seven points while Jacky Rosen and Sam Brown are neck-in-neck in Nevada. “The four Democratic Senate candidates outpace Biden by between one and 13 points,” the summary of the poll reads.

The polling discrepancy could in part be attributed to Republicans being better at their messaging against Biden rather than the entire Democratic party, Robert Cahaly, founder of the polling organization the Trafalgar Group, told the Daily Caller.

“I would think that is a logical reasoning for the gap. That is a logical reason. So I would ascribe to that possibility …  Let it all be blamed on Biden and therefore all cleaned up,” Cahaly told the Daily Caller. 

Weaver and Jennings echoed Cahaly’s sentiments, though they attributed the gap more to the timing of the poll. (RELATED: ‘Biggest Mistake Of My Life’: Biden 2020 Voters Explain Why They’re Backing Trump In 2024)

“I think that’s possible, but that messaging would come later in the campaign. That’s a September message. That’s not a May message. Right now, most Republican Senate candidates are not spending money advertising, they’re organizing,” Weaver told the Caller.

“But it’s awfully early to measure that because you’re not seeing large amounts of Republican Senate advertising yet. It’s too early to be messaging,” he added. 

U.S. President Joe Biden delivers remarks on environmental health and infrastructure funding for replacing lead pipes, as part of his Investing In America agenda, during a campaign event in Wilmington, North Carolina, U.S., May 2, 2024. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque

U.S. President Joe Biden delivers remarks on environmental health and infrastructure funding for replacing lead pipes, as part of his Investing In America agenda, during a campaign event in Wilmington, North Carolina, U.S., May 2, 2024. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque

Brad Bannon, a Democratic strategist, agreed that Republicans may have a messaging problem, adding that state candidates focus on issues that might not be popular with voters.

“I do think there’s a Republican message problem,” Bannon told the Caller. “And you know, one of the reasons is that, in my opinion, is abortion. People see Trump Republicans making all sorts of threats about a national abortion ban. And even older districts who are willing to vote for Donald Trump for president don’t want a national abortion ban.”

As the election draws near, the president and his aides are reportedly in complete denial about the polls showing Biden trailing across key swing states.

In public, the president is open about his disbelief in the polls, and his posture is the same in private, people familiar with his thoughts told Axios.

“While the press doesn’t write about it, the momentum is clearly in our favor, with the polls moving towards us and away from Trump,” the president told donors during a California campaign event in May.

There are some polls that show Biden leading Trump, and those figures are the ones the president likes to study and follow closely, according to Axios. An April 2024 poll from PBS/Marist survey is among those that puts Biden three points ahead of Trump.

“The only consistency in recent public polls is inconsistency,” Geoff Garin, a Biden campaign pollster, told reporters, according to the New York Times.

Leslie Marshall, a Democratic strategist, had similar sentiments to Garin, adding that the polls are only reflective of a point in time and could fluctuate.

“So am I saying those polls are wrong? No, not necessarily. But we all know, polls are a snapshot in time. And whether you look back to the election of 1972, actually, from 1972, all the way to 2020. The polls at this time have been off, you know, whether it’s three, four, or five or more points from where we are in November, and then things are going to change by the time November comes around,” Marshall told the Caller. 

Despite the polling troubles, the Biden campaign has had success in its fundraising efforts through the 2024 election cycle. Keeping up with his trend of glitzy fundraisers, the president is set to host a major event in California with former President Barack Obama, George Clooney and Julia Roberts, a campaign official told NBC News. Biden will later hold a fundraiser with former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and former President Bill Clinton, the outlet reported.

“I think when you vote right down to it, Trump is more popular among Republicans than Biden is among Democrats. If we’ve heard one, we’ve heard 100 people say I didn’t start off this election cycle thinking there’s any way I can vote for Trump and I’m so sick of what’s being done to him, that I’m gonna vote for him just to spite him. I hear that all the time,” Cahaly told the Daily Caller. 

PREMIUM ARTICLE: Subscribe To Keep Reading

Sign up

By subscribing you agree to our Terms of Use

You're signed up!

Sign up

By subscribing you agree to our Terms of Use

You're signed up!
Sign up

By subscribing you agree to our Terms of Use

You're signed up!

Sign up

By subscribing you agree to our Terms of Use

You're signed up!
Sign up

By subscribing you agree to our Terms of Use

You're signed up!

Sign Up

By subscribing you agree to our Terms of Use

You're signed up!
Sign up

By subscribing you agree to our Terms of Use

You're signed up!
Sign up

By subscribing you agree to our Terms of Use

You're signed up!
BENEFITS READERS PASS PATRIOTS FOUNDERS
Daily and Breaking Newsletters
Daily Caller Shows
Ad Free Experience
Exclusive Articles
Custom Newsletters
Editor Daily Rundown
Behind The Scenes Coverage
Award Winning Documentaries
Patriot War Room
Patriot Live Chat
Exclusive Events
Gold Membership Card
Tucker Mug

What does Founders Club include?

Tucker Mug and Membership Card
Founders

Readers,

Instead of sucking up to the political and corporate powers that dominate America, The Daily Caller is fighting for you — our readers. We humbly ask you to consider joining us in this fight.

Now that millions of readers are rejecting the increasingly biased and even corrupt corporate media and joining us daily, there are powerful forces lined up to stop us: the old guard of the news media hopes to marginalize us; the big corporate ad agencies want to deprive us of revenue and put us out of business; senators threaten to have our reporters arrested for asking simple questions; the big tech platforms want to limit our ability to communicate with you; and the political party establishments feel threatened by our independence.

We don't complain -- we can't stand complainers -- but we do call it how we see it. We have a fight on our hands, and it's intense. We need your help to smash through the big tech, big media and big government blockade.

We're the insurgent outsiders for a reason: our deep-dive investigations hold the powerful to account. Our original videos undermine their narratives on a daily basis. Even our insistence on having fun infuriates them -- because we won’t bend the knee to political correctness.

One reason we stand apart is because we are not afraid to say we love America. We love her with every fiber of our being, and we think she's worth saving from today’s craziness.

Help us save her.

A second reason we stand out is the sheer number of honest responsible reporters we have helped train. We have trained so many solid reporters that they now hold prominent positions at publications across the political spectrum. Hear a rare reasonable voice at a place like CNN? There’s a good chance they were trained at Daily Caller. Same goes for the numerous Daily Caller alumni dominating the news coverage at outlets such as Fox News, Newsmax, Daily Wire and many others.

Simply put, America needs solid reporters fighting to tell the truth or we will never have honest elections or a fair system. We are working tirelessly to make that happen and we are making a difference.

Since 2010, The Daily Caller has grown immensely. We're in the halls of Congress. We're in the Oval Office. And we're in up to 20 million homes every single month. That's 20 million Americans like you who are impossible to ignore.

We can overcome the forces lined up against all of us. This is an important mission but we can’t do it unless you — the everyday Americans forgotten by the establishment — have our back.

Please consider becoming a Daily Caller Patriot today, and help us keep doing work that holds politicians, corporations and other leaders accountable. Help us thumb our noses at political correctness. Help us train a new generation of news reporters who will actually tell the truth. And help us remind Americans everywhere that there are millions of us who remain clear-eyed about our country's greatness.

In return for membership, Daily Caller Patriots will be able to read The Daily Caller without any of the ads that we have long used to support our mission. We know the ads drive you crazy. They drive us crazy too. But we need revenue to keep the fight going. If you join us, we will cut out the ads for you and put every Lincoln-headed cent we earn into amplifying our voice, training even more solid reporters, and giving you the ad-free experience and lightning fast website you deserve.

Patriots will also be eligible for Patriots Only content, newsletters, chats and live events with our reporters and editors. It's simple: welcome us into your lives, and we'll welcome you into ours.

We can save America together.

Become a Daily Caller Patriot today.

Signature

Neil Patel