Within party lines, Americans are more likely to blame Democrats for rising gas prices than Republicans, according to the poll, which also found much more enthusiasm for voting in the November Republican election than among Democrats. In the ABC News / Ipsos poll conducted by Ipsos in collaboration with ABC News using the Ipsos KnowledgePanel, more than two-thirds of Americans blamed Putin (71%) and oil companies (68%) for a “Big deal” or “good amount” for increases in gas prices. This comes the same week that oil executives sought out lawmakers for skyrocketing gas prices, which have been falling in recent days. A vehicle passes in front of a Marathon gas station in Washington, DC, on March 31, 2022. Oil executives took turns defending their companies during Wednesday’s hearing with the House Energy and Trade Subcommittee on Surveillance and Investigations, dismissing accusations of price spikes and citing the COVID-19 pandemic as a reason for its rise. cost. Democrats have blamed Russia’s invasion of Ukraine as the source of the rise in gas prices, with President Joe Biden calling it a “Putin price increase,” while Republicans have argued that Biden’s energy policies are to blame. Although the public seems open to the Democrats’ arguments, they are more likely to blame price increases on the policies of the Democratic Party (52%) and Biden (51%) than on the Republican Party. policies (33%) and former President Donald Trump (24%). The vast majority of Americans (68%) also disapprove of the way Biden handles gas prices. Unsurprisingly, these estimates are divided by party lines, with almost all Republicans (93%) disapproving compared to 41% of Democrats. The public is divided, with about half (49%) saying that price increases have caused financial hardship to themselves or other members of their household, while 50% say no. Only 21% of Americans say it causes them serious financial hardship. Republicans (60%) are more likely to say they are experiencing financial hardship due to rising gas prices than Democrats (32%). Pump pain is considered one of the many major political challenges facing Democrats this year. With elections seven months away, just under 2 in 3 Americans (63%) are very (39%) or somewhat (24%) excited about the vote. The poll found more enthusiasm among Republicans, with 55% saying they were “very excited” about the vote compared to only 35% of Democrats – setting the stage for a difficult election year for Democrats, who will should increase the volume on their side of the treadmill. On the other hand, more Democrats (13%) say they are “not at all enthusiastic” about voting in the November election compared to Republicans (5%). President Joe Biden speaks during an event in the east room of the White House, April 5, 2022. The ABC News / Ipsos poll found widespread support for Biden’s policies on Ukraine, including tougher economic sanctions on Russia (79%), the reception of Ukrainian refugees in the US (63%), and the sending of additional US troops. weapons and equipment in Ukraine (70%) and sending additional US troops to nearby European countries but not to Ukraine (53%). The Americans supported less aggressive options that Biden said the United States would not pursue, including sending troops to Ukraine (17%) and imposing a no-fly zone over Ukraine (27%), which could mean immediate military conflict with Russia. Although in line with White House policies, just over half (53%) of Americans disapprove of Biden’s handling of Russia and Ukraine, with a wide margin of disapproval among Republicans (85). %) and Democrats (28%)). Answers to a number of other questions, including economic recovery, crime, climate change, inflation and immigration, have remained largely unchanged since the beginning of the year, with the majority of Americans disapproving of Biden’s handling. . A bright spot is still the president’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic, with 58% of Americans approving it – up from 50% at the end of January. COVID-19 cases in the US have fallen sharply, while hospitalizations and deaths have fallen sharply. Outbreaks appear to be exacerbated on the northeast and west coasts, with Washington’s elite facing a COVID-19 outbreak in recent days. This ABC News / Ipsos poll was conducted using the Ipsos Public Affairs KnowledgePanel®, April 8-9, 2022, in English and Spanish, on a random national sample of 530 adults. The results have a sampling margin of 4.9 points, including the design effect. The party divisions are 27-26-40%, Democrats-Republicans-independents. See the top poll results and methodology details here. ABC News’ Dan Merkle and Ken Goldstein contributed to this report.
