More Americans disapprove of how Biden is handling his role as president than approve. But a decisive number of those disapprovers say their opinion of Biden is soft, meaning they only rate his performance only “somewhat” negatively — not “strongly.” In new POLITICO/Morning Consult and Pew Research Center polls over the past week, those who mildly disapproved of Biden added up to about a quarter of his total disapproval.

Younger voters, women, people of color and independents are over-represented among those with softer views of Biden compared to the overall electorate. In all, more than a third of Americans say they have only a weak opinion, positive or negative, of how Biden is doing in recent surveys.

Whether the president can bring back those who’ve shifted into the “somewhat disapprove” category — or motivate those who “somewhat approve” to stick with him — could determine whether Democrats’ narrow congressional majorities can withstand Biden’s first midterm elections, which typically deliver backlash against the president’s party.