President Biden's job approval is solid (57% at least somewhat approve/37% at least somewhat disapprove/6% not sure) as he starts his first, and probably only term in office. His numbers remained strong among both men (56% at least somewhat approve/38% at least somewhat disapprove) and women (57% at least somewhat approve/37% at least somewhat disapprove), younger voters aged 18-29 (68% at least somewhat approve/27% at least somewhat disapprove) and aged 18-24 (69% at least somewhat approve/28% at least somewhat disapprove), college educated voters (59% at least somewhat approve/36% at least somewhat disapprove) and non-college educated voters (55% at least somewhat approve/38% at least somewhat disapprove).
Joe Biden also appealed to all regions of the U.S. He had a majority job approval rating in the East (66% at least somewhat approve/28% at least somewhat disapprove), South (53% at least somewhat approve/39% at least somewhat disapprove), Central/Great Lakes (51% at least somewhat approve/44% at least somewhat disapprove) and West regions (59% at least somewhat approve/35% at least somewhat disapprove). He was also very popular among swing voters who supported former president Trump, such as, weekly Amazon shoppers (68% at least somewhat approve/27% at least somewhat disapprove) and weekly Walmart Shoppers (57% at least somewhat approve/37% at least somewhat disapprove). Biden's job approval was highest among African Americans (83% at least somewhat approve/11% at least somewhat disapprove), Hispanics (74% at least somewhat approve/24% at least somewhat disapprove), and Democrats (91% at least somewhat approve/8% at least somewhat disapprove). The president's job approval rating was also decent with Independents (46% at least somewhat approve/40% at least somewhat disapprove).
The president also received high marks from large city voters (70% at least somewhat approve/27% at least somewhat disapprove) and suburban voters (55% at least somewhat approve/37% at least somewhat disapprove). His appeal continued with urban men (69% at least somewhat approve/29% at least somewhat disapprove) and suburban women (55% at least somewhat approve/39% at least somewhat disapprove). Both were important groups that helped elevate Biden to winning key battle ground states and the presidency in 2020.
Although, Biden is experiencing a very high job approval rating, there were some groups who were not that favorable toward him. While President Biden did very well with voters under the age of 50, he did not do as well with voters over the age of 50, in particular voters aged 65+ (44% at least somewhat approve/47% at least somewhat disapprove). Biden's support among voters aged 50-64 was slightly better (49% at least somewhat approve/44% at least somewhat disapprove). This is interesting and noteworthy because Biden did well against Trump in the 2020 presidential election with older voters, presumably due to Trump's poor handling of the coronavirus pandemic and its deadly impact on the elderly population.
Kamala Harris, the new Vice President, continues to ride a wave of popularity on the heels of her historic victory as the first female and African American Vice President. Her job approval rating was 53% at least somewhat approve and 37% at least somewhat disapprove, while 10% were not sure. Vice President Harris was most popular in the East (62% at least somewhat approve/29% at least somewhat disapprove) and West regions (55% at least somewhat approve/32% at least somewhat disapprove). The vice president's job approval was lowest in the Central/Great Lakes region (47% at least somewhat approve/45% at least somewhat disapprove).
As expected, Vice President Kamala Harris was very popular among minorities, such as, Hispanics (74% at least somewhat approve/21% at least somewhat disapprove) and African Americans (82% at least somewhat approve/10% at least somewhat disapprove). She also made an impression with voters with college degrees (57% at least somewhat approve/35% at least somewhat disapprove), voters under the age of 50 (64% at least somewhat approve/28% at least somewhat disapprove) and Democrats (87% at least somewhat approve/8% at least somewhat disapprove).
Kamala Harris was popular with men (54% at least somewhat approve/38% at least somewhat disapprove), women (52% at least somewhat approve/36% at least somewhat disapprove), voters without college degrees (49% at least somewhat approve/39% at least somewhat disapprove), lower income voters-household income less than $25K (53% at least somewhat approve/32% at least somewhat disapprove) and upper income voters-household income greater than $150K (59% at least somewhat approve/35% at least somewhat disapprove). Her job approval was strong among large city voters (68% at least somewhat approve/25% at least somewhat disapprove) but she was somewhat struggling with suburban voters (49% at least somewhat approve/39% at least somewhat disapprove) and suburban women (48% at least somewhat approve/40% at least somewhat disapprove). Both groups turned away from President Trump in the 2020 presidential election and were key to the Biden/Harris ticket securing victory.
While Harris is widely popular among the youngest generations-Millennials (62% at least somewhat approve/30% at least somewhat disapprove) and Generation Z (71% at least somewhat approve/22% at least somewhat disapprove), she like Biden, also struggles with voters over the age of 50 (40% at least somewhat approve/45% at least somewhat disapprove) and Baby Boomers (42% at least somewhat approve/47% at least somewhat disapprove).
As expected, Harris' job approval was not well received by Republicans (24% at least somewhat approve/66% at least somewhat disapprove) but slightly better with Independents (43% at least somewhat approve/39% at least somewhat disapprove).
Right now Biden and Harris' job approval ratings are very good, but they dropped lower from last month. Could the shine be wearing off? Biden went right to work on day one by signing Executive Orders undoing Trump's legacy. Some economists are wondering if the Biden Administration will hurt the economy further with policies not favorable to Wall St. and Main St. It's possible six months from now we are in a deep recession due to new Covid-19 mutations or the stock market bubble bursting. Can Biden prevent a recession and re-build the economy back to its pre-pandemic heights? That's why he was elected but things happen out of nowhere and throttle major plans, ask Donald Trump about that!
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Zogby Analytics Poll Methodology
US Likely Voters
1/18/21 - 1/19/21
Zogby Analytics conducted an online survey of 873 likely voters in the US.
Using internal and trusted interactive partner resources, thousands of adults were randomly invited to participate in this interactive survey. Each invitation is password coded and secure so that one respondent can only access the survey one time.
Using information based on census data, voter registration figures, CIA fact books and exit polls, we use complex weighting techniques to best represent the demographics of the population being surveyed. Weighted variables may include age, race, gender, region, party, education, and religion. The party breakdown for this survey is as follows: 37% Democrat, 35% Republican and 28% Independent/unaffiliated.
Based on a confidence interval of 95%, the margin of error for 873 is +/- 3.3 percentage points. This means that all other things being equal, the identical survey repeated will have results within the margin of error 95 times out of 100.
Subsets of the data have a larger margin of error than the whole data set. As a rule we do not rely on the validity of very small subsets of the data especially sets smaller than 50-75 respondents. At that subset we can make estimations based on the data, but in these cases the data is more qualitative than quantitative.
Additional factors can create error, such as question wording and question order.
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About Zogby Analytics:
Zogby Analytics is respected nationally and internationally for its opinion research capabilities. Since 1984, Zogby has empowered clients with powerful information and knowledge critical for making informed strategic decisions.
The firm conducts multi-phased opinion research engagements for banking and financial services institutions, insurance companies, hospitals and medical centers, retailers and developers, religious institutions, cultural organizations, colleges and universities, IT companies and Federal agencies. Zogby's dedication and commitment to excellence and accuracy are reflected in its state-of-the-art opinion research capabilities and objective analysis and consultation.