(The Hill) — President Joe Biden on Monday, when asked about his low approval ratings and for a response to the notion that his polls were “terrible” said he foresees a change coming.
“It’s a long way home, the fact is that we’ve been divided for so long, and it’s only recently that we have any kind of movement, and I think you’re going to see a lot change,” Biden told reporters in Lexington after he toured damage from deadly floods in eastern Kentucky.
With the midterm elections exactly three months away, recent polling shows Biden’s approval rating just shy of 40 percent, where it’s stubbornly stayed for the last several months.
A Gallup poll released late last month reported a 38 percent approval rating, a new low for Biden. His approval rating began at 57 percent and was at 41 percent in June, according to the same survey.
Facing historical and political headwinds, Democrats are hoping a recent string of legislative victories can boost the party’s standing by the time voters head to the polls in November.
Senate Democrats on Sunday passed a sweeping package on taxes, climate change and health care, which included some long-time liberal priorities.
That party-line package now heads to the House, but Biden this week will sign two major bills into law that recently passed with bipartisan support.
Biden on Tuesday will sign into law a $280 billion bill to strengthen the domestic chip manufacturing industry and finance scientific research, and on Wednesday he will sign another bill to expand health care to veterans exposed to toxic burn pits.
Democrats also saw glimmers of hope in Kansans’ rejection of a ballot question that would have removed abortion rights from the state constitution, with the measure passing with nearly 60 percent support in the traditionally red state.
Prominent analysts indicate Republicans are still heavy favorites to take the House in November, but recent polling shows Democrats making gains on the generic ballot question.
Poll aggregator FiveThirtyEight as of Monday evening gave Republicans a 4 in 5 chance of winning the House while indicating Democrats had a 59 percent chance of maintaining Senate control, a significant shift since suggesting Republicans were the favorites as of just two weeks ago.