Millions of Americans are heading to the polls today to vote in the midterm elections. It’s no exaggeration to say this is one of the most consequential midterms in recent memory, with competitive races in states long believed to be deep red. So what’s driving this shift? What’s at the top of mind for most voters? Let’s get into it.
Whether it’s CBS News, The New York Times, or NBC News, the biggest issue shared by voters across party lines is the affordability crisis, which isn’t a surprise. It feels like every month I’m writing a new story about how gas prices have reached record highs, people are going into debt to buy groceries, and how credit card defaults are rising.
“The prices of everything we normally buy have gone up and up dramatically,” Dwayne Stanford, a father of eight in suburban Cincinnati, who voted entirely Democrat, told the Times. “It’s just the everyday stuff.”
“The cost of living is extremely high,” said Peris Morgan, a Michigan voter told NBC News outside a polling place in Sterling Heights on Monday. “Rent is high. Groceries are high, gas is high, everything is high, and so yeah, the cost of living compared to what people are being paid is not adding up.”
The midterms are also, ultimately, a referendum on the Trump administration. Many of the aforementioned issues existed before President Donald Trump took office. He won by promising to lower prices and address the affordability crisis.
That hasn’t happened.
In fact, many of Trump’s policies and actions have exacerbated the affordability crisis. Take, for instance, the deeply unpopular war in Iran. The prolonged conflict has had a significant impact on gas prices, grocery prices, and inflation across the board. Pollster Frank Luntz spoke to several former Trump voters who said they voted against the Republican Party due to the economy and feeling like Trump overpromised and underdelivered.
The Iran war could also be a reason why Republican voter enthusiasm is so low this year. While MAGA Republicans only really show up when Trump is on the ballot, The Washington Post reports that there has been a pronounced lack of enthusiasm in traditional conservatives as well. One of Trump’s core campaign promises was no new wars, and yet only one year into his term, he started a new war with no clear path to ending it.
In fact, a poll from AP found that a majority of voters in both parties want Congress to focus on ending the war in Iran, with the issue only being behind their concerns about the economy.
Congressional Republicans are privately reeling over how Trump actions have derailed their midterm goals. “There was a point earlier this year where we really felt like we could defy history,” an anonymous House Republican told Politico. “And then Trump bombed Iran. And it was just one thing after another.”
Another anonymous Republican House member told Politico, “At least when Barack Obama was president, he only screwed his enemies, never his friends.”
So it’s fairly apparent that even congressional Republicans are blaming Trump for the issues driving voters to the polls. Should there be a Blue wave, like many analysts have been predicting, we may even see Republican politicians turn against the president as he enters the lame duck period.
No matter how the results go, I know one thing for sure: I’m so looking forward to some Sunday football without having to see election ads every commercial break.
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