In an ominous sign of things to come for Democrats, Joe Biden's approval rating is 5 points underwater in deep-blue California, a state the president won by 29 points in 2020.
According to a Public Policy Institute of California poll released Thursday, just 46 percent of likely California voters approve of Biden, while 51 percent disapprove. Those numbers mark a 19-point skid in just one year—a 2021 poll from the same group showed Biden with the support of 65 percent of likely voters in the Golden State. Biden won the support of roughly 60 percent of California voters in 2020.
Biden's freefall in California is likely to prompt serious concern for Democrats as they look to maintain control of the House in November. Four California Republicans flipped blue seats to red in 2020, and the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) is targeting seven additional Democratic incumbents in the state. Democrats will have to retain those seats in order to emerge from the midterm elections with a House majority.
The NRCC touted the poll's findings in a Thursday press release, noting that "Democrats' popularity continues to dwindle, and they're in big trouble ahead of the midterm election."
"Californians know Democrats are to blame for the high cost of goods and gas, and will vote them out in November," NRCC spokeswoman Torunn Sinclair said.
In addition to Biden's waning popularity, the Thursday poll shows that more than two-thirds of California adults are experiencing financial hardship due to inflation. A record-high 46 percent of Californians, meanwhile, "say the cost of their housing makes them and their family seriously consider moving," with "most saying they would move outside the state."