March 28, 2024 10:58 AM
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Economy, Inflation Top Issues for Midterm Voters – Rasmussen Reports

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A week before Election Day, nearly half of voters say inflation and the economy are the most important issues for them in this year’s congressional midterms.

A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone and online survey finds that 26% of Likely U.S. Voters say inflation is the most important issue in how they vote in this year’s congressional elections, while another 22% name the economy as the top issue. These are followed by abortion rights (19%), illegal immigration (8%), climate change (8%) and violent crime (7%). Only two percent (2%) of voters name either the war in Ukraine or LGBTQ rights as the most important issue for them in the midterm election. (To see survey question wording, click here.)

The survey reveals that the priorities of independent voters are more closely aligned with Republicans than Democrats. A majority (62%) of Republican voters name either inflation (33%) or the economy (29%) as their top issues, but only 33% of Democrats say inflation (18%) or the economy (15%) are the most important issues affecting their vote. Thirty-one percent (31%) of Democratic voters say abortion rights is the top issue in the midterms.

Forty-nine percent (49%) of voters not affiliated with either major party say either inflation (27%) or the economy (22%) is the top issue in their congressional vote, followed by abortion rights (18%).

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The survey of 2,050 U.S. Likely Voters was conducted on October 23-27, 2022 by Rasmussen Reports. The margin of sampling error is +/- 2 percentage points with a 95% level of confidence. Field work for all Rasmussen Reports surveys is conducted by Pulse Opinion Research, LLC. See methodology.

Forty-nine percent (49%) of whites and 44% of black voters and other minorities name inflation or the economy as the issues that will be most important in how they vote in this year’s congressional elections. Nineteen percent (19%) of both white and black voters, and 17% of other minorities, consider abortion the top issue. Violent crime is the top issue for six percent (6%) of whites, 10% of black voters and nine percent (9%) of other minorities. More whites (9%) than black voters (5%) or other minorities (7%) view illegal immigration as the most important issue in the midterms.

The issue of abortion rights is twice as likely to be named as the most important by women voters (24%) than men (12%). However, 45% women consider either inflation (25%) or the economy (20%) the most important issue in the midterms.

Voters who attended college are more concerned about abortion rights than those who did not.

Illegal immigration is the most important issue for 13% of Republicans, but only three percent (3%) of Democrats and nine percent (9%) of unaffiliated voters share that view. Men (10%) are more likely than women voters (7%) to name illegal immigration as their top midterm issue, and the issue is more than twice as important to voters 65 and older (11%) than to those under 40 (5%). More voters under 40 name violent crime as their top issue.

Breaking down the electorate by income brackets, voters with annual incomes over $200,000 are much less concerned about inflation (16%) than abortion rights (25%), but the priorities are reversed for all those earning less than $200,000. Among those earning less than $30,000 a year, for example, 29% say inflation is the top issue in this year’s congressional elections, while only 17% view abortion rights as most important. Illegal immigration is considered the top issue by 10% of voters with annual incomes between $30,000 and $50,000, while climate change is rated the top issue by 12% of those with incomes between $100,000 and $200,000 a year.

The survey of 2,050 U.S. Likely Voters was conducted on October 23-27, 2022 by Rasmussen Reports. The margin of sampling error is +/-2 percentage points with a 95% level of confidence. Field work for all Rasmussen Reports surveys is conducted by Pulse Opinion Research, LLC. See methodology.

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