November 9, 2022
The final national NBC News poll of the 2022 midterms finds a highly competitive campaign landscape ahead of Election Day. While Democrats have pulled even with Republicans in enthusiasm, President Joe Biden remains unpopular and voters express deep dissatisfaction about the state of the country.
That’s a reversal from October, when 48% preferred a GOP-controlled Congress versus 47% who wanted Democrats in charge—although the shift is well within the poll’s margin of error.
Among all registered voters, congressional preference is tied at 47%-47%—essentially unchanged from last month, when Democrats held a narrow 1-point edge, 47%-46%.
In October’s NBC News poll, Republicans held a 9-point advantage in high voter interest, 78% to 69%, after Democrats had previously closed the enthusiasm gap following the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade in June.
Still, the overall political environment remains grim for Democrats. Only 44% of voters approve of President Biden’s job performance, while 53% disapprove; more than 70% think the country is headed in the wrong direction; and a combined 81% say they are “very” or “somewhat” dissatisfied with the U.S. economy.
“President Biden and the Democrats are in for a miserable election,” said Republican pollster Bill McInturff of Public Opinion Strategies, who conducted this survey with Democratic pollster Jeff Horwitt and his team at Hart Research.
“The Democrats have to run way ahead of the president to win a statewide race,” said McInturff. “I would expect to see to see a large number of losses in the House and possibly a switch in control of the Senate.”
But Horwitt counters that, despite those traditional midterm fundamentals, Democrats have made this election competitive, which could save Democrats in some contests.
“In January, if you told me that the national political dynamics would not improve but Democrats had a fighting chance to avert a typical first midterm shellacking, I’d take it,” he said.
“And here we are,” Horwitt added.
Other findings
- 38% of all voters say they’ve already voted, either by mail (19%) or early in person (19%); another 13% say they plan to vote early, and 45% say they will be voting at the polls on Election Day.
- Former President Barack Obama is the most popular figure measured in the poll (at 51% positive, 37% negative)—followed by President Biden (42% positive, 50% negative), the Democratic Party (38% positive, 47% negative), the Republican Party (35% positive, 48% negative) and former President Donald Trump (35% positive, 55% negative).
- Voters are divided on their choice of the bigger concern about the upcoming election: 47% are more concerned that Republicans will take control of Congress and make the wrong kinds of changes, versus 45% who are more concerned that Democrats will continue to control Congress and not make enough change.
Research contact: @NBCNews
