WASHINGTON — With less than a month until Election Day, the economy is the dominant issue for midterm voters, and a new national voter panel shows Americans across the political spectrum also wrestling with immigration enforcement, healthcare and the war in Iran as they prepare to deliver a first national verdict on Donald Trump second presidency.
On 3 November, millions of Americans will vote in midterm elections to decide control of the House of Representatives and Senate, as well as the governorships in 36 states. A survey of registered voters finds that 84% of registered voters say the economy is very important to their midterm vote. It is the top issue among both voters who prefer Republican candidates in the congressional elections (82%) and those who back Democrats (88%).
Clear majorities of Republican and Democratic voters also say the future of democracy is very important to their vote, though Democrats are more likely to say this than Republicans (85% vs. 69%, respectively). The two largest partisan gaps across 16 issues asked are on investigations into Trump and his administration and on environmental and climate policy. The poll figures come from a Pew Research Center survey of registered voters released Oct. 8.
A national panel of voters from across the political spectrum pointed to the cost of living, immigration and healthcare, the war in Iran and whether they can trust their political leaders. In Detroit, voters described working more while falling further behind, with a tank of gas that cost about $80 two months ago now running near $120.
In Texas, an independent who had voted for Trump pointed to labor shortages that slow housing work and push interest rates and home values higher. Democrats in Georgia named ICE enforcement as the biggest negative, while Republicans in South Carolina pointed to the Greenland strategy and the Iran war as defining second-term moves.
In California, Democrats say high gas and grocery prices are hurting families, with a fill-up for a small SUV running about $78, while Republicans in Tennessee say life feels better and more hopeful and see gas prices as a temporary worry.
