HOUSTON, Texas

Despite a slight jump in President Joe Biden’s approval ratings in response to Russia’s war with Ukraine, US Democrats face major hurdles in keeping control of Congress as the 2022 midterm elections approach.

A Wall Street Journal poll released Friday from data collected the week of March 2-7 showed 42% of voters approve of the president’s overall job performance, up one percentage point from 41% in November 2021.

However, 57% of the 1,500 voters polled were not happy with the job Biden has been doing, the same number as last November.

Only 26% said things in America were headed in the right direction, down a percentage point from the previous the Journal poll.

Meanwhile, 63% believed things were headed the opposite way, not moving the needle over the past four months.

Despite the Ukraine conflict currently making headlines and giving Biden a boost, the poll indicates only 25% of Americans are concerned about the war versus 50% who believed inflation and the economy were more important issues.

Regarding the economy, 65% of those surveyed said it was headed in the wrong direction, up four points from 61% in November 2021. Just 24% said the economy was headed in the right direction, a drop of six percentage points from 30% last November.

When asked the crucial question “if the election for Congress were held today, would you be more likely to vote for the Republican candidate or the Democratic candidate,” 41% said they would vote Democrat, dead even with poll numbers taken last November.

However 46% said they would vote Republican, up two percentage points from 44%.

Another troubling spot in the poll: 63% of voters said they disapproved of the president’s handling of inflation and rising costs versus 34% who said they approved. That is Biden’s worst rating on all policy issues covered in the survey, which also included the Ukraine crisis, crime, border security, health care costs, and COVID-19 response.

“It’s one more piece of evidence that if these numbers don’t go up positively, the Democrats are going to face losing both the House and Senate, and lose Congress in 2022,” Mark Jones, Professor of Political Science at Rice University, told Anadolu Agency.

Democrats currently hold a narrow edge in the House, and even though Republicans and Democrats are a 50-50 split in the Senate, Vice President Kamala Harris controls the tie breaking vote in that chamber.

Midterm elections will be held on November 8, 2022.