U.S. voters rank the economy and living costs among their leading concerns before Nov. 3 midterms, as President Donald Trump cites unrest in France to frame the stakes of the congressional vote. All 435 House seats and roughly one-third of Senate seats are on the ballot.
In an Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research survey conducted Oct. 8-12, 85% of voters put the economy among their leading concerns, and 84% did so for the cost of living. Health care followed at 69%, the war with Iran at 64%, and immigration and crime at 45% each. The poll included 1,119 adults and reported a 3.9 percentage-point margin of sampling error.
A Pew Research Center survey of registered voters, conducted Sept. 28-Oct. 4, found 84% rated the economy as very important when deciding their midterm vote. Among supporters of Democratic candidates, 88% gave it that rating, up from 65% in 2022. Among supporters of Republican candidates, the share was 82%, down from 92%. The surveys asked about voter priorities in different ways, so their results are not directly comparable.
An ABC News/Washington Post/Ipsos poll of 2,545 U.S. adults, conducted Oct. 9-13, found that 37% trusted Democrats to handle the economy, compared with 28% who trusted Republicans. Democrats led on the cost of living, 38% to 24%. Republicans led on crime, 35% to 30%, while Democrats held a narrower advantage on immigration, 37% to 35%.
At a campaign rally in Park City, Kansas, on Oct. 19, Trump told attendees to consider “what’s happening in France” when weighing the election. The polls capture voter concerns and party trust, but do not establish whether the France remarks or campaign proposals changed voting plans.
The White House said Sept. 10 that Trump proposed a $5,000 payment to every adult U.S. citizen if Republicans won the House and Senate. The announcement did not specify how payments would be funded or when they might be made. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) has scheduled its October Consumer Price Index release for Nov. 10 at 8:30 a.m. ET, after Election Day.
