Voters’ Costs Clash With Parties’ Midterm Priorities

About four in 10 U.S. voters said the economy was the country’s most important issue, while about three in 10 named democracy, according to the Associated Press Voter Poll reported by PBS NewsHour. The poll put a sharp divide on record: people were focused on prices and the country’s direction as campaigns and party leaders competed to define what mattered.

Most voters expressed concern about gas prices and grocery costs. Roughly half said government corruption and the cost of living were crucial to their vote for Congress. Those concerns sit below the campaign machinery, where party priorities and paid messages shape what voters hear.

The costs voters named

About three-quarters of voters were angry or dissatisfied with the country’s direction, the AP poll found. Roughly three-quarters described the economy as not so good or poor. Dissatisfaction was particularly high in California and Massachusetts, while a majority in deep-red states also said they were at least dissatisfied.

About two-thirds said President Donald Trump's policies had worsened economic conditions and that his tariff policies had hurt the national economy. More than half said Trump was not a strong leader, did not fight for people like them, did not have the right priorities or lacked the mental capability to serve effectively as president. About six in 10 said he prioritized his personal interests over the country’s; about four in 10 said he put the country’s interests first.

A POLITICO Poll published hours before polls closed found that nearly half of Americans, 47%, considered cost of living and affordability among the issues that mattered most in deciding how to vote. That included 44% of Republican midterm voters and 54% of Democratic midterm voters. The economy and jobs ranked second.

Party priorities and paid messages

Among Republican voters, 39% named immigration and deportations as a top GOP priority, while 23% said the party prioritized affordability—a 21-point gap from the share who called affordability a top voting concern. Nearly two-thirds wanted to hear more from their party about the economy and cost of living. Just 10% wanted to hear more about “wokeness and DEI.”

Six percent of Republican voters and 5% of Democratic voters listed race, DEI and “wokeness” among their top voting concerns. By contrast, 64% of Republican voters wanted more discussion of the economy and cost of living, and 42% wanted more on immigration and border security. A plurality of Democratic voters also named affordability as a top priority for their party.

Campaigns and outside groups spent more than $800 million on affordability advertising, according to POLITICO’s analysis of primarily television-ad data from AdImpact. Democratic-aligned groups accounted for about $401 million and Republican-aligned groups for $311 million. The money went into advertising; the figures don’t describe direct action or mutual aid organized by voters. Neither poll report describes a grassroots response to the cost pressures voters identified.

What the campaigns said

The POLITICO Poll was conducted by PF Global from Oct. 30 to Nov. 1, surveying 2,001 U.S. adults online. Its overall margin of error was plus or minus 2 percentage points; smaller subgroups had higher margins of error, and figures might not total 100% because of rounding. The project was conducted by POLITICO and PF Global, an independent polling company headquartered in London.

The survey found Trump spent just over 10% of his speaking time discussing the economy and cost of living across three campaign stops in Florida, South Carolina and Ohio late the previous week. White House spokesperson Matthew Middleton said Trump had delivered “more than $82 billion in individual tax relief” through No Tax on Tips, No Tax on Overtime, the Enhanced Senior Deduction and No Tax on Car Loan Interest.

Republican strategist Jeff Burton said, “Well, I don't think it's good for Republicans,” adding that “most of the Republicans' campaign message hasn't evolved around that and what affordability and cost of living really is.” Arizona Republican strategist Chuck Coughlin said President Trump was “pretty much said time and time again, he doesn't care” and “thinks affordability is a hoax.”

Republican National Committee spokesperson Natalie Baldassarre said Democrats' “far-left policies will decimate” Republican progress and said Trump “has criss crossed the nation to drive voters to the polls to support our Republican candidates who will build on these achievements over the next two years.” The polling records voters’ priorities; the campaign statements show what party officials chose to say about them.