With the midterm elections just a few weeks away, a survey from The New York Times/Siena revealed that U.S. voters are more supportive of Republicans (47%) than Democrats (37%) on crime and policing. Of those surveyed, 49% were independent voters.
The unleashed crime wave and the lack of action from the Biden Administration are main reasons why the Democratic Party is "vulnerable" to losing support from its voters. A report released by The Bureau of Justice Statistics showed that from 2020 to 2021, the rate of violence increased from 19 to 24.5 victims per 1,000 people in urban areas.
Another ABC News/Washington Post poll shows Republicans hold a 14-point lead over Democrats on the issue of public safety.
Democrats "soft on crime"
Criminal justice reform became a central pillar of the Democratic Party in the run-up to the 2020 presidential election. Many Democrat-led cities implemented such policies, aiming to reduce "mass incarceration" and limit police action.
Joe Biden pledged on the campaign trail to reduce the U.S. incarceration rate by at least 50%. Following the death of George Floyd in May 2020, several progressive leaders supported calls to defund the police. The enaction of these ideas has caused a disproportionate increase in crime, often with no or little retribution for offenders.
New York, New Orleans, Washington, Baltimore, Los Angeles, Philadelphia and Atlanta are among more than a dozen cities that reported record homicide numbers in 2021, according to a Fox analysis. Almost all of these cities are led by Democrats.
Rafael A. Mangual notes on Fox News that "it's going to be hard for Democrats to convince voters that these things are unrelated." The Democrats' "soft[ness] on crime" is a major source of blame for the increase in crime and delinquency in the country.
