Biden's sinking approval in battlegrounds could drag Democrats down in midterms: Poll

President Joe Biden's sinking job approval rating in key battleground states could drag Democrats down in the 2022 midterm elections now less than a year away.

In the eight states expected to have the most competitive Senate races in 2022, Biden's approval rating is significantly lower than it is nationally, according to the latest poll from ABC News and The Washington Post.

The poll found that Biden's job approval has sunk to 33% in those eight states: Florida, Georgia, Nevada, Arizona, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.

In those swing states "Biden’s overall job approval rating is 33%, compared with 43% elsewhere," according to an analysis of the data by Gary Langer, the director of polling at ABC News. "Registered voters in these states favor Republicans over Democrats for the House by a 23-point margin, 58-35%, vs. 7 points, 49-42%, in the rest of the country."

The GOP sweep in Virginia could be the first sign of a Republican wave coming in 2022.

The National Republican Campaign Committee referred to the Virginia race as a "test run" for Republicans nationally heading into the 2022 midterms. 

"We're already building up our staff across the country," RNC Chair Ronna McDaniel said. "We already have 300 staff across the country. We're opening engagement centers in Hispanic, Asian, and African-American communities. This is already beginning. It will just be a lot bigger scale than Virginia but the RNC's already on the ground everywhere."

After the GOP's wins in Virginia and a closer-than-expected gubernatorial race in New Jersey, the National Republican Senatorial Committee said that "Democrats are ignoring the flashing warning signs that voters sent them" on Election Day.

Democratic congressional leaders are moving ahead with Biden's large social spending bill that includes new federal benefit programs and around $550 billion for climate change initiatives. 

"Instead of taking a step back to find out why voters resoundingly rejected their agenda, Democrats are moving full steam ahead with their radical agenda," read the NRSC statement. "Democrats like Mark Kelly, Maggie Hassan, Catherine Cortez Masto, Raphael Warnock, and Michael Bennet are going to have a tough time explaining to voters why they support this deeply unpopular agenda."

NRSC Chairman Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.) said the NRSC's polling data, specifically with suburban voters, shows that the "nation is rejecting the Biden agenda and Democrat candidates and that's what voters in Virginia did."

Scott added that he's looking forward to taking back control of the U.S. Senate in the 2022 midterms.

On Tuesday, the NRSC announced record fundraising figures.

"In October, the NRSC achieved the highest number of gifts and new donors of any month this cycle, with the number of gifts exceeding 200,000 for the first time," read an NRSC press release. "The NRSC has raised over $85 million this cycle, has $29 million cash on hand, and $0 debt."

The National Republican Congressional Committee has expanded the number of House races it is targeting after the Virginia results.

House GOP Leader Kevin McCarthy has been publicly optimistic that the Republicans will take back the House since before the Virginia election took place.

"I will bet my house ... my personal house," McCarthy said in February. "This is the smallest majority the Democrats have had in 100 years."

Democrats have a 50-50 majority in the Senate with Vice President Kamala Harris as the tie breaking vote. Their majority in the House is 221-213.