Poll from liberal group shows more voters in key states back $3.5T bill

A majority of voters across 13 states support the Democrats’ $3.5 trillion social spending plan that would advance key components of President Biden’s economic agenda, according to a new poll released by a progressive nonprofit run by allies of the president.

The survey by ALG Research, commissioned by Building Back Together, found that most registered voters supported the plan in 10 battleground states — Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Michigan, North Carolina, New Hampshire, Nevada, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin — as well as Republican-leaning West Virginia and Democratic-leaning Virginia and Minnesota.

The polling, which was conducted Sept. 13–19, also surveyed voters in 48 congressional districts, many of which are battleground districts, across the aforementioned 13 states as well as others in Iowa, Oregon, New Jersey, Texas, Washington, Maine, Illinois, New Hampshire, Hawaii and Wisconsin.

The survey found that most voters in those districts similarly backed the Democrats’ massive spending plan, which includes popular issues like tuition-free community college, universal pre-K, and investments in public housing and climate change.

Fifty-four percent of voters in those states and districts supported the plan, compared to 43 percent who opposed. The survey also found that 58 percent of independents respondents supported the proposal, while 37 percent opposed it.

Voters interviewed for the poll were also asked about their support for a provision in the package that would allow the government to negotiate lower drug prices. Sixty-five percent of those polled said the component makes them more likely to support the Democrats’ spending plan.

Several moderate Democrats in the House, however, have balked at including the drug price provision in the budget reconciliation package. House Democrats can afford only three defections given their slim majority in the chamber.

Fifty-four percent of respondents also voiced support for language in the package that seeks to expand Medicare benefits, compared to 34 percent who opposed. Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) on Thursday warned against including that provision in the final version.

The survey polled 2,000 registered voters. The 95 percent confidence interval for the state sample is plus or minus 2.27 percentage points, and plus or minus 4.2 percentage points for the battleground congressional district sample.