The following is presented as part of The Columbian’s Opinion content, which offers a point of view in order to provoke thought and debate of civic issues. Opinions represent the viewpoint of the author. Unsigned editorials represent the consensus opinion of The Columbian’s editorial board, which operates independently of the news department.
President Joe Biden’s approval rating in Washington appears to have tanked and Gov. Jay Inslee’s rating isn’t much better. Many voters think things are unlikely to get better in the next year and that their state and federal governments aren’t doing a good job of representing their interests.
But voters might feel more favorable toward Democrats than Republicans, a new survey suggests. The most recent Crosscut Elway Poll, conducted earlier this month, suggests that voters may be “uncoupling” their low opinions of the current president and governor with their decisions on how to mark their ballots in the upcoming election, pollster H. Stuart Elway said.
Other factors, like the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling that overturned Roe v. Wade, a series of mass shootings, and the revelations of U.S. House Jan. 6 committee may be helping Democrats, Elway said.
Less than one voter in three gave Biden a positive job rating, and only 2 of 5 had a positive job rating for Inslee. That’s the lowest point for both in any Crosscut Elway Poll, which is conducted twice a year.
Voters were also pessimistic that things would get better over the next year. Only about 1 in 4 thought things would get better in the country, about 1 in 3 thought things would get better in the state and their community.
Two-thirds of those surveyed said they weren’t being represented by the federal government and more than half said they weren’t being represented by the state government – both of which are controlled by Democrats.
Ordinarily, such numbers would mean the party in power is in for a tough time in the upcoming elections, but other survey questions suggest that may not be the case.
The state and national Democratic parties had higher favorable ratings than their GOP counterparts.
Asked about their district’s congressional race, 51 percent said they were likely to vote for a Democrat compared to 32 percent for a Republican.
Asked how they were inclined to vote in the U.S. Senate race, 53 percent picked Patty Murray, the incumbent Democrat, and 33 percent picked Tiffany Smiley, the leading Republican challenger.
Voters in the survey were split over which party should control state government, but Democrats generally did better. A plurality of 40 percent said Democrats should control both chambers of the Legislature and the governor’s office. One in five said Republicans should control both.
Polls don’t predict the outcome of elections. Instead, they offer a snapshot of voters’ opinions on issues, political parties and candidates at the time they are taken.
A majority of voters in the July survey said the Legislature should take action to ban assault weapons, increase law enforcement and reduce homelessness, and a plurality said it should give parents more control over schools.
Abortion is a key issue for more voters than in previous surveys, Elway said, possibly because last month’s U.S. Supreme Court ruling emphasized that elections have consequences. “It woke up a lot of people who didn’t believe that could happen,” he said.
One big separation between the parties is their confidence in the state’s all-mail voting system. Overall, 52 percent of voters surveyed said they are very confident the system is secure and accurate.
Among Republicans, however, those numbers are essentially reversed, with 52 percent saying they have no confidence in the system and 23 percent saying they have doubts. Only 12 percent said they are very confident in the system and another 14 percent saying they are somewhat confident.
The state has had only a few instances of voter fraud and candidates who claimed widespread fraud and corruption in the 2020 election did not produce evidence to back that up.
Elway said having three-fourths of Republicans questioning the state’s voting system is “pretty staggering,” especially considering Republicans have held the office of Secretary of State, which oversees elections, for decades.
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