Democrat Vest Virginia Senator, Joe Manchin learned this morning that his approval rating has dropped by close to double digits, making him one of the most unpopular Senators in U.S. Congress, as per the latest Morning Consult poll.
Only 42% of registered voters in West Virginia approve of Manchin and an overwhelming majority, 51% disapprove after his decision to side with Joe Biden’s woke policies.
In the early quarters of 2022, his approval ratings were close to 60% with less than 40% disapproval ratings. This was the time when Manchin, along with Democrat Arizona Senator, Kyrsten Sinema were the only two Democrats who blocked early versions of Biden’s Build Back Better bill and helped prevent uncontrolled inflation at the time.
Many Independent and some Republican voters approved of Manchin at the time for his strong stances of not supporting the massive spending bill during a time of record inflation. 31% of Independent voters approved of Manchin at the time, along with 44% of Republicans. With a majority, 52% of Democrats support his strong anti-Biden stances.
Manchin’s moderate ideologies were rare to see in the modern Democrat party, which for many classic liberals, has gone too far to the left.
While he rejected his support for the initial Build Back Better bill in early 2022, he ultimately ended up signing the more “moderate” alternative of the same bill dubbed as “Inflation Reduction Act” which ended up increasing taxes on large corporations and added challenges with strict regulations for the coal industry along with higher taxes.
“Following a quarter in which he played a pivotal role in the enactment of Democrats’ Inflation Reduction Act — a massive climate, health care and taxes measure — Manchin saw a greater decline in his approval rating and a larger surge in disapproval than any other Senate incumbent,” Morning Consult’s analysis noted. “That has dragged him to similar levels of home-state support held by controversial senators such as Democrat Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona and Republicans Mitt Romney of Utah and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, all of whom are among America’s most unpopular senators.” The analysis further reads.
As of publishing this article, Manchin is the third highest disapproved Senator, fulling slightly behind Republican Kentucky Senator Mitch McConnell (63%) and Republican Wisconsin Senator, Ron Johnson (55%)
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) are America’s least popular senators, disliked by 63% and 55% of voters in their states, respectively. https://t.co/85NtjXo98g pic.twitter.com/N8kWQfQxh0
— Morning Consult (@MorningConsult) October 16, 2022
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