Chuck Todd: Is Biden or Trump the bigger drag on his party?

If there is one consistent pattern this spring in political polling, it’s how differently voters are treating the presidential race and the down-ballot races.

If there is one consistent pattern developing this spring in political polling, both nationally and in the battleground states, it’s how differently voters are treating the presidential race and the down-ballot races, at least at the moment.

Obviously, it’s possible this pattern doesn’t hold come Election Day and we will see voters correlate their presidential votes and their votes for Congress. After all, it has become quite rare recently for a Senate candidate to win a state the top of their ticket fails to carry in a presidential year. Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, is the lone exception since 2012.

That having been said, this week’s results from The New York Times’ surveys of the presidential battlegrounds indicate that Democrats have a Biden problem right now more than a party-brand problem.

In every state where the new polls tested Biden, there was at least one Democrat performing better. Across the board, Democrats were ahead or tied in every Senate race tested.

There are other potential explanations for this, including the power of incumbency, because three of the battleground Senate races (Wisconsin, Nevada and Pennsylvania) feature sitting Democratic senators.

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2024-election/chuck-todd-biden-trump-bigger-drag-party-rcna152225

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