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Former President Barack Obama struck an upbeat tone when asked Tuesday about his thoughts on the upcoming midterm elections.
“We got a story to tell, just got to tell it,” Obama said on his way out of a press conference with President Biden after being asked what he would say to Democrats who are worried about the upcoming midterms.
FILE – Vice President Joe Biden whispers “This is a big f—— deal,” to President Barack Obama after introducing Obama during the health care bill ceremony in the East Room of the White House in Washington, March 23, 2010. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File)
Obama’s comment comes as polling indicates Republicans are on track to outpace Democrats in November in part due to skyrocketing gas prices, inflation, chaos on the border, and perceived foreign policy failures by the Biden administration such as the disastrous withdrawal from Afghanistan and the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Forty-six percent of registered voters questioned in an NBC News national poll said they preferred a GOP-controlled Congress, compared to 44% who said they wanted Democrats to retain control.
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That two-point margin in the NBC News survey, which was conducted March 18-22, is the same as in a Fox News national poll in the field a few days earlier. And an average of all the most recent polls compiled by Real Clear Politics with a generic ballot question – which asks whether a respondent would vote for an unnamed Democrat or Republican candidate in their congressional district – indicates the GOP with a 3.1-point advantage.
President Biden speaks about status of the country’s fight against COVID-19 in the South Court Auditorium on the White House campus, Wednesday, March 30, 2022, in Washington. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)
Going past the toplines, both the Fox News and NBC News polls point to a sizable enthusiasm gap facing Democrats.
Republican voters questioned in the Fox News poll were 8 points more likely than Democrats to be extremely interested in the upcoming elections, and 7 points more likely to say the outcome is extremely important to them. And that enthusiasm gap was a larger 17-points in the NBC News survey.
Obama’s confident assessment comes days after Vice President Kamala Harris told Democrats during their winter meeting that the party simply needs to remind voters that “they got what they ordered” when it comes to Biden’s campaign promises.
At the same gathering, Biden said that Democrats should be “proud” of their record over the past 2 years.
President Joe Biden speaks at the National League of Cities Congressional City Conference, Monday, March 14, 2022, in Washington. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)
“We have a record — a record to be proud of; an agenda that addresses the biggest concerns here in America, in people’s lives; the message that resonates,” Biden said. “Now what we have to do is we have to sell it with confidence, clarity, conviction, and repetition.”
Fox News’ Paul Steinhauser contributed to this report