In partnership with The Trafalgar Group, Convention of States Action released the results of a new national survey on numerous issues, including party preference on a generic ballot. The pollster surveyed more than 1,000 likely 2022 election voters with a political affiliation breakdown of 39.3% Democrat, 35.6% Republican, and 25.1% unaffiliated or other. On the generic ballot, Republican candidates hold nearly a 13-point lead going into 2022.
Nearly 83% of respondents who preferred a Republican candidate and 80% of those who preferred a Democrat are confident that if Republicans regain control of Congress in November, they will block or undo Biden’s agenda. “It’s clear from this data that Republicans remain far ahead in this race, and if they win, voters believe they will deliver. However, these numbers also spell danger for Republicans. GOP leadership has not laid out clearly what they would do if they are elected, and voters feel very strongly about action being taken on issues from law and order to the border to inflation and the economy,” said Mark Meckler, President of Convention of States Action.
Meckler continued, “If voters get wind that their priorities are not being taken seriously, and lose confidence in Republicans to deliver, these numbers could shift dramatically.” Right now, Republicans are giving mixed signals. The GOP members of the Senate Banking Committee just announced they would block President Biden’s five nominees, several of them radical, for the Federal Reserve. However, 14 Republican Senators rejected Senator Mike Lee’s amendment to the continuing resolution on the budget that would defund vaccine mandates. At best, they are batting .500 on what matters to their voters.
According to the poll, there is significant consensus on how America should respond to many of the issues it faces. Nearly 96% of voters who favor Republicans want policies to stem inflation. Ninety-four percent believe that Biden’s proposed policies will hurt the economic recovery. President Trump once called energy independence the critical ingredient to the country’s economic and foreign policy successes during his term. More than 85% of Republican voters and nearly 63% overall believe we can develop domestic oil and natural gas without putting the environment at risk.
These voters also want police departments fully funded and crimes prosecuted. They believe that officers who abuse their power can be disciplined appropriately in an environment where prosecutors enforce the laws. Overall, 80.1% of respondents share these views. And despite Democrats’ return to screeching “RUSSIA! RUSSIA! RUSSIA!” with the events on the Ukrainian border, Republican voters see growing aggression from China as a threat to America. They also seem to be aware that China is the source of most of the fentanyl flowing over the southern border that is killing Americans. That may be one reason that 94% of them want the border secured and illegal border crossers returned to their country of origin. More than a third of Democrat voters agree.
Related: Insanity Wrap: Joe Biden Just Got Advice So Crazy You Won’t Believe It
Republicans must craft a message that aligns with their voters’ expectations if they want to capitalize on the historic failure of President Joe Biden. The voters who express a preference for Republican candidates want a set of policies that increase their safety, security, and prosperity. That sounds suspiciously like an America First agenda. Establishment Republicans may have difficulty prioritizing the people who live here and making their lives better. It will be especially tough for those who favor military adventurism and the Chamber of Commerce. Perhaps their tenure needs to come to an end.
What Republicans should not be doing is unveiling plans that include amnesty for millions of illegal aliens as seven House members are:
A group of seven House Republicans led by Rep. Maria Salazar (R-Fla.) have unveiled a bill that would make almost every illegal alien in the United States, as many as 22 million, eligible for green cards and a pathway to citizenship even as the country grapples with unprecedented levels of illegal immigration along its southern border.
Salazar’s bill is cosponsored by Reps. Dan Newhouse (R-Wash.), John Curtis (R-Utah), Pete Sessions (R-Texas), Tom Reed (R-N.Y.), and Pete Meijer (R-Mich.), in addition to Puerto Rico Republican Delegate Jennifer Gonzalez-Colon.
This legislation is the definition of tone-deaf. It is also the kind of boneheaded move that can turn a potential red wave into a red trickle. Republican leadership needs to get it together and clearly articulate a new Contract with America and see it through. No more John McCain’s blowing up the Obamacare vote at the 11th hour. It is time to do more than slow down the Left’s advance. It is time to reverse it.
