Poll: Swing district voters split on $4 trillion spending plan

Voters in some of the most competitive congressional districts are largely split on — if not outright opposed to — Democrats’ $4 trillion economic plan that includes sweeping investments in infrastructure and social programs, according to a new poll from the centrist group No Labels.

The poll, which surveyed voters across 10 swing districts represented by Democrats who are expected to face competitive reelections next year, found a range of views about the massive economic proposal. But in no district did the measure have majority support, underscoring the potential political risks attached to the legislation.

In Georgia’s 7th District, which is represented by Rep. Carolyn Bourdeaux (D), voters were nearly evenly divided on the proposal, with 51 percent opposed to it and 49 percent supportive. In contrast, voters in Minnesota’s 3rd District, represented by Rep. Dean Phillips (D), were largely opposed to the measure, 61 percent to 33 percent.

For many voters, the $4 trillion price tag of the legislation appears to be a key issue. In every district included in the poll, a majority of voters said they don’t want Congress to spend more than $1 trillion on the economic plan. 

But there still appears to be widespread support for a bipartisan approach to an infrastructure overhaul, with the majority of voters in each of the 10 districts saying that Congress should only move forward on legislation if it has the backing of both parties. 

In five districts — Minnesota’s 3rd, New Hampshire’s 1st, Pennsylvania’s 17th, New Jersey’s 5th and Oregon’s 5th — at least 60 percent of voters said that they only want Congress to pass legislation with bipartisan support, while 40 percent of less believe that Democrats should use parliamentary maneuvers to approve such a measure.

The Biden administration has already revised its initial $2.3 trillion infrastructure proposal to $1.7 trillion. And Senate Republicans who have been negotiating with the White House are working on a counterproposal that could total $1 trillion over eight years. 

But even with the negotiations, there’s no guarantee that the two sides will be able to strike a deal, and some Democrats are eager to find a way to push the entire $4 trillion plan without Republican support. 

Democrats are fighting to hold their narrow majorities in both the House and the Senate in the 2022 midterm elections.

Party leaders argue that passing far-reaching legislation may offer Democrats their best chance at victory next year. But the polling from No Labels suggests that their bet may be a risky one in at least some of the districts they’re defending.

The poll was conducted by HarrisX for No Labels from May 18 to 23. It is based on responses from 5,008 registered voters in 10 districts — Georgia’s 7th, Maine’s 2nd, Minnesota’s 3rd, New Hampshire’s 1st, New Jersey’s 5th, Nevada’s 4th, New York’s 3rd, Oregon’s 5th, Pennsylvania’s 17th and Virginia’s 7th — with margins of sampling error ranging from plus or minus 4.4 percentage points to plus or minus 4.7 percentage points.