Democratic poll finds partisan split on Biden’s response to Russia-Ukraine

A new survey from a progressive polling firm finds broad support among Americans for financial sanctions that President Biden has imposed on Russia for invading Ukraine, but a partisan divide over the president’s overall response to the crisis. 

Seventy-nine percent of likely voters support Biden imposing financial sanctions on Russia, while only 12 percent oppose, according to new pollin that was shared exclusively with The Hill. This includes 87 percent of Democrats polled, 78 percent of independents and 70 percent of Republicans.  

Additionally, the poll found that 71 percent of respondents supported Biden sending U.S. forces to Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, while 19 oppose the president doing so. This includes 79 percent of Democrats polled, 74 percent of independents and 60 percent of Republicans.  

Overall, only a narrow plurality of respondents said they approve of Biden’s response to the situation, though the share grew from 47 percent to 55 percent when respondents were told about the actions that the president has taken — specifically the financial sanctions and sending U.S. forces to the Baltic states.  

Despite bipartisan support for sanctions and the troop movements, Biden’s approval rating on his overall response to the Russia-Ukraine crisis has a clear partisan split. According to the poll, 84 percent of Democrats expressed approval but only 27 percent of Republicans did so after hearing about the specific actions Biden has taken. 

The polling comes ahead of Biden’s State of the Union address Tuesday, which is expected to touch heavily on the conflict in Ukraine. Republicans have criticized Biden’s approach to Russia’s invasion, but there are divides within the GOP about the approach and the treatment of Russian President Vladimir Putin. 

In coordination with European allies, the Biden administration has sanctioned Russian banks, Russian elites and Putin himself since the Russian leader launched a military operation against Ukraine last week. The U.S. and Europe have also announced plans to bar certain Russian banks from the SWIFT international financial messaging system. 

In addition, Biden has sent U.S. forces to reinforce NATO allies, while ruling out that U.S. troops would deploy to Ukraine to fight Russia. 

As the conflict threatens to create a major refugee crisis, the Data for Progress poll also found that 63 percent of respondents say the United States should accept Ukrainian refugees displaced by a war between Ukraine and Russia, while 26 percent oppose doing so and 11 percent said they are unsure. Majorities of Democrats and independents polled, and a plurality of Republicans surveyed, support allowing Ukrainian refugees into the U.S.  

Data for Progress conducted the poll from Feb. 25 to Feb. 27 by surveying 1,162 likely voters nationally. The margin of error for the survey is plus or minus 3 percentage points.