And we’re off. Iowa is in the books and we’re on to New Hampshire, South Carolina, Nevada, YAAAAA.
As is almost always the case, incumbent Presidents loom large over the primary process to choose their successors. Republicans never miss the opportunity to criticize President Obama. Sec. Clinton has the blessing of President Obama (if not his supporters) and Sen. Sanders wants you to know he’s the true progressive who can build on President Obama’s legacy.
Ultimately, the general election will be a choice between two candidates, but that doesn’t mean the direction and mood of the country and the electorate’s opinion of the out-going president won’t play a role. It almost certainly will.
Gallup recently released their state-by-state tracking of President Obama’s approval ratings for 2015. And in Indiana, though he carried the state in 2008, the President is not terribly popular. His approval rating is 37-59. That’s what pollsters would call “upside down.” In only a handful of states are his numbers worse.
Which is not to say that those ratings won’t improve prior to November. Or that President Obama’s popularity would doom the eventual Democratic nominee for President. But if you are a Democrat running in Indiana in 2016, knowing you will be at least somewhat tied to his policies, the President’s numbers have to give you at least a little concern.
