President Joe Biden is confident Democrats have a chance of maintaining control of the House and Senate in the 2022 midterm elections if they show the same enthusiasm they did in 2020.
Speaking at the Democratic National Committee’s winter meeting on Thursday night, Biden said, “We need to bring some real determination, the same work ethic, the same enthusiasm [as 2020]. And if we do that, we’re going to keep the House and Senate and add seats.”
“By the way, if we don’t do that, it’s going to be a sad, sad two years. Think about Republicans if they controlled the Congress these last two years,” he warned.
Watch his comments below (starting around 21:30):
Biden told Democrats, “I believe we have a record to be incredibly proud of. An agenda the public strongly supports if you look at the polling data. A message that resonates.”
His comments come months ahead of the November midterm elections. Dating back to President Harry Truman, the president’s party has lost an average of 29 House seats in the first midterm election of their presidency, according to the Council on Foreign Relations.
Democrats currently hold a narrow majority in the House, and the Senate is divided 50-50, which puts Republicans within striking distance of flipping both chambers.
According to RealClearPolitics, Republicans hold an aver 2.8 point lead over Democrats on the question of which party Americans want to control Congress.
Additionally, a Gallup poll found that 47% of Americans say they identify as or lean toward Republicans while 42% identify as or lean toward Democrats.
And an ABC News/The Washington Post poll released in February found that just 37% of Americans approve of Biden’s job performance while 55% disapprove.
That is a career-low for Biden.
The survey found that 43% think he can be trusted in a crisis, while 52% believe he can’t. It also showed that 36% view him as a strong leader and 59% do not.
