States with the highest and lowest Biden approval ratings
Amid soaring inflation and a looming recession, the Fed announced on Nov. 2 that it would raise interest rates for an unprecedented sixth time in 2022. The news came just days before Americans lined up at the polls or submitted ballots by mail for a midterm election already defined by concerns about the economy.
Inflation and economic woes are the leading issues on voters' minds this midterm cycle, according to polling from NPR, PBS Newshour, and Marist. These issues, somewhat unsurprisingly, are the ones President Biden ranks lowest on. Fears of a recession, combined with polarized views on the overturning of Roe v. Wade, have resulted in average approval ratings for Biden that are slightly lower than those of other recent presidents.
Presidential approval ratings historically tend to start fairly high and begin to dip in the first two years, and Biden's have done just that. Many factors influence a president's approval rating at any given time, from economic stability to social issues and scandals. Often, presidential popularity falls along partisan lines. While Biden's support comes largely from Democrats, approval for him is less than widespread within his party. According to mid-2022 polling, only 26% of Democrats would want him to be renominated in 2024 if he decided to run again.
Approval for Biden varies significantly between states and is highest among stalwart blue states. Low ratings are largely concentrated in Midwestern and Western red states. In order to track Biden's popularity among voters in every state, Stacker compiled a list of states—ranked from the highest to the lowest in terms of approval ratings—using data from Morning Consult.
The polling period occurred between June and September 2022, and only registered voters were surveyed. Due to polling capturing only a small sample of the population in each state, determining the approval rating in each state with total accuracy is not possible, but trends can be captured generally.
