USA05 October, 20262 min read
Poll Finds Voters Rank Health Care Costs and Gas Top Midterm Concerns
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Health care costs and gas top voters' midterm concerns, with Democrats holding advantage. Democrats maintain a House majority edge and national vote lead in polls.
8 outlets told this the same way.
Outlets did split on White House Officials Question How Long Katie Zacharia Will Stay Press Secretary After First Briefing →
Midterms, costs, and trust
Cost of health care and gas tied as the top economic concern for voters in the month before the midterm elections, with a quarter of voters saying they were “very worried” about being able to afford the cost of health care and gas and transportation (25% and 25%).
KFF President and CEO Dr. Drew Altman said, “Of all the cost-of-living worries hitting voters now, a big health care bill is the least predictable, and that’s a big reason why health care costs are right up there with gas prices and the costs of food and housing on voters’ minds,” while KFF said Democrats held nearly a two-to-one advantage over Republicans on whom voters trust more on health care costs (42% vs. 22%).
President Trump was facing record-low approval ratings and 53% in the latest NPR/PBS News/Marist poll said they strongly disapprove of the job the president is doing, the highest ever recorded in the survey.
KFF said voters also trusted Democrats more than Republicans to handle the cost of living (39% vs. 25%), and NPR said the electoral landscape had shifted further in Democrats’ direction with Democrats favored to win the House with a fairly narrow majority.
House and Senate math
Cook Political Report forecast a five-to-15-seat net gain for Democrats, which would give them in the range of 220 to 230 seats come January, with 218 needed for a majority. Republicans currently control the Senate with 53 seats to 47 for the Democratic bloc, and it said Democrats would need a net gain of four seats and to hold all they already have.
The Hill said Democrats hold their largest advantage of the cycle and that NBC News’s polling average puts Democrats’ generic ballot lead at 9 points, identical to Nate Silver’s tracker and RealClearPolitics’s aggregate. Diario Libre said the entire 435 seats in the House of Representatives would be up for grabs on November 3, and it said 35 of the 100 Senate seats would be decided on the same date.
What could decide outcomes
Support for a national health plan, commonly called “Medicare-for-All,” had grown to about two-thirds (66%) of the public, and partisans remained divided with two-thirds (66%) of Republicans opposed. The latest poll found the share who favor a Medicare-for-All-style plan falls sharply when people are told it could lead to potential delays in medical tests and treatments (24% still favor), tax increases (35%), or threaten the current Medicare program (38%).
CBS News said its House model estimate showed Democrats retain their edge for a narrow majority of seats and their lead in national vote preference, and it said “The economy” today means prices. CBS News said voters see Trump administration policies as responsible for today’s economy, and it said “Most voters think the Iran war is driving up” prices while also saying most voters continued to feel the administration hadn’t focused enough on lowering costs.