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American voters are growing more supportive of Joe Biden’s handling of the US economy, but remain unsettled by persistent inflation, especially rising petrol prices, according to a new Financial Times poll.
The number of registered voters who approve of Biden’s handling of the economy jumped five percentage points in the past month to 41 per cent, according to the latest survey conducted for the FT and the University of Michigan Ross School of Business.
But the poll showed higher prices continue to weigh on voter sentiment, with nearly four in five voters citing inflation among their biggest sources of financial stress — and almost three-quarters saying food prices were having the “biggest impact” on their finances.
The poll also revealed a sharp increase in concern about the price at the pump, with 52 per cent saying petrol had a big impact on their financial situation, up from 47 per cent last month.
The latest official inflation data, out last week, showed a 3.5 per cent increase in consumer prices for the year to March, higher than economists had expected. Petrol prices have risen by more than 15 per cent since the start of the year.
The petrol price rise is also playing an important role in month-to-month changes in inflation, according to official figures released last week. Oil analysts have warned of price increases if turmoil in the Middle East following Iran’s attack on Israel disrupts crude exports from the region.
Voters’ improving outlook of Biden’s stewardship of the economy — alongside a four-point rise to 43 per cent in his overall approval rating — will be welcome news in the White House, where the president and his team have been frustrated by the public’s failure to give him more credit for strong growth and low unemployment.
“Voters worry as much about inflation as they ever did, but they blame Mr Biden less,” said Erik Gordon, a professor at the University of Michigan’s Ross School of Business. “Mr Biden’s recent, more strident accusations that greedy corporations are responsible for price increases seem to have won him points.”
But while Biden has improved his standing with younger voters, women, independents and Black and Hispanic voters, in particular, the poll showed the president still had a way to go to make the economy a vote winner in his re-election campaign.
It found that 41 per cent of voters trusted Donald Trump more with the economy, compared to just 35 per cent who put more trust in Biden. Sixteen per cent of registered voters said they trusted neither on economic policy.
The poll also suggested that voters from across the political spectrum were open to supporting third-party candidates. While No Labels, the bipartisan group that had tried to field an independent “unity ticket,” dropped its bid this month, several third-party candidates, including environmental lawyer Robert F Kennedy Jr, academic Cornel West and Green party activist Jill Stein are still seeking ballot access in states across the country.
Nearly half — 46 per cent — of voters, and two-thirds of independents said they would consider voting for a third-party candidate.
The latest survey showed that most voters were supportive of a range of Biden administration actions and policy proposals. Asked about the Department of Justice’s recent move to sue Apple, over allegations that it was using its power to crush competition and limit consumer choice for smartphones, nearly three-quarters of voters said large tech groups had too much power.
Separately, asked whether they backed the Biden administration’s latest proposals to raise taxes on corporations and high-income individuals, nearly two-thirds said they supported the idea. If enacted, the policy would require billionaires to pay at least a quarter of their income in taxes and raise the corporate tax rate to 28 per cent from 21 per cent.
The FT-Michigan Ross poll was conducted online by Democratic strategists Global Strategy Group and Republican polling firm North Star Opinion Research between April 4-8. It reflects the opinions of 1,010 registered voters nationwide, and has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.1 percentage points.
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