Biden, Congress Job Ratings Unchanged After Midterm Elections

Americans’ job approval ratings of President Joe Biden and Congress are stable in the wake of the elections, which saw Democrats lose their majority in the House but still perform better than expected by averting the high number of seat losses typically seen for the president’s party in midterm years.

At 40%, Biden’s approval rating is identical to Gallup’s final preelection reading in October and in line with most of his ratings since September 2021. Approval of Congress, at 22%, is essentially unchanged from October’s 21% and similar to ratings since August.

Democrats continue to hold their party’s president and the Democratic-controlled Congress in higher regard than do Republicans and independents. In all, 85% of Democrats approve of Biden’s job performance, compared with 6% of Republicans and 37% of independents. Forty-four percent of Democrats approve of the way Congress is handling its job, while 7% of Republicans and 21% of independents agree.

These findings are from a Nov. 9-Dec. 2 Gallup poll conducted after the Nov. 8 elections. The field period included a week when control of the U.S. House of Representatives was unknown due to ballots still being counted in some states — but it was clear that the “red wave” Republicans were hoping for, which would give them a comfortable House majority and control of the Senate, would not occur. On Nov. 16, Republicans won the 218th seat needed to secure control of the House. Meanwhile, the Democratic Party will continue to control the U.S. Senate by a slim margin.