Democratic insistence on no spending cuts is a liability in 2024 Congressional elections.
There is significant public agreement that President Biden and Senate Democrats should negotiate and find a compromise with Speaker McCarthy – a rejection of the Biden hardline position for a so-called “clean” debt ceiling increase without spending cuts.
WHY IT MATTERS – While Biden and McCarthy met earlier this week to discuss the debt ceiling, the president is still insisting on no cuts in spending in a debt ceiling deal.
BOTTOM LINE – Americans want government to cut spending and they want Republicans and Democrats to compromise to get things done. Biden and the Democrats find themselves on the wrong side of public opinion on both issues.
READ THE REPORT – Click on the image below to view the slideshow or continue past it to read results in the body of the article.
SUPPORT FOR SPENDING CUTS, COMPROMISE – An exclusive poll by America’s New Majority Project, conducted by McLaughlin and Associates, revealed broad support for cuts in government spending and for President Biden to compromise with Speaker McCarthy.
Voters were asked if they agreed or disagreed with the following:
“HOUSE REPUBLICANS HAVE DONE THEIR JOB AND PASSED A RESPONSIBLE DEBT CEILING INCREASE. NOW PRESIDENT BIDEN AND SENATE DEMOCRATS MUST DO THEIR JOB AND NEGOTIATE A COMPROMISE WITH HOUSE SPEAKER MCCARTHY TO AVOID AN ECONOMIC CATASTROPHE.”
- 60.7 percent – Agree
- 26.8 percent – Disagree
This includes:
- 75 percent of GOP, 58 percent of Independents, and 48 percent of Democrats
- 68 percent of Men, 55 percent of Women
- 62 percent of Whites, 65 percent of Hispanics, 54 percent of Blacks, and 55 percent of Asians
- 70 percent of Gen Z, 60 percent of Millennials, 58 percent of Gen X, 60 percent of Boomers, and 68 percent of Silent Gen.
“RAISING THE DEBT CEILING WITHOUT CUTTING SPENDING IS ACTUALLY A “DIRTY” DEBT CEILING DEAL BECAUSE IT MEANS MORE DEBT, HIGHER INFLATION, AND WEAKENING SOCIAL SECURITY AND MEDICARE.”
- 63.9 percent – Agree
- 22.9 percent – Disagree
This includes:
- 76 percent of GOP, 62 percent of Independents, and 53 percent of Democrats
- 65 percent of Men, 62 percent of Women
- 66 percent of Whites, 62 percent of Hispanics, 56 percent of Blacks, 63 percent of Asians
- 66 percent of Gen Z, 65 percent of Millennials, 65 percent of Gen X, 62 percent of Boomers, and 64 percent of Silent Gen.
“I SUPPORT SPENDING CUTS TO GET THE DEBT AND DEFICIT UNDER CONTROL EVEN IF THEY IMPACT ME AND MY FAMILY PERSONALLY.”
- 62.0 percent – Agree
- 27.5 percent – Disagree
This includes:
- 75 percent of GOP, 57 percent of Independents, and 53 percent of Democrats
- 69 percent of Men, 56 percent of Women
- 65 percent of Whites, 57 percent of Hispanics, 54 percent of Blacks, 59 percent of Asians
- 57 percent of Gen Z, 63 percent of Millennials, 60 percent of Gen X, 63 percent of Boomers, 77 percent of Silent Gen.
IMPACT ON 2024 – The poll also measured the issue’s potential impact on the 2024 Congressional elections. It found that Democrat unwillingness to cut spending along with a debt ceiling increase would be a liability.
“WHICH CANDIDATE FOR CONGRESS WOULD YOU BE MORE LIKELY TO SUPPORT?
- A REPUBLICAN CANDIDATE, WHO WILL ONLY VOTE FOR A BILL TO RAISE THE DEBT CEILING IF IT CUTS GOVERNMENT SPENDING.
OR,
- A DEMOCRATIC CANDIDATE, WHO WILL ONLY VOTE FOR A BILL TO RAISE THE DEBT CEILING IF IT DOES NOT CUT GOVERNMENT SPENDING.
- 49.1 percent -Republican Candidate
- 35.4 percent – Democratic Candidate
- 15.5 percent – Don’t Know
This is a net 5.9 percent gain in margin for the Republican candidate compared to the generic ballot. However, the gain is not uniform.
- Republicans gain support from Independents, Gen X, Democrats and Women.
- However, Republicans lose support from Gen Z, Hispanics and even self-identified Republicans.
This national survey of 2,000 people was conducted from May 4-7, 2023 by McLaughlin & Associates for America’s New Majority Project and has a margin of error of 2.2%.