USAupdated 45m ago3 min read
US Midterm Elections: Economy Drives Voters as Consumer Sentiment Slips
“But in recent years, these have diverged.”
“Exit polling conducted by SSRS on behalf of a consortium of US media outlets, which included major television networks and the Associated Press, found that nearly 9 in 10 voters saw the cost of living as a crucial or major factor”
This article is an automated aggregation of coverage from news outlets. Our editorials offer in-depth analysis curated by the NewsCord team.
Cost of living and corruption emerge as top voter concerns across polls ahead of midterms. Voters express economic pessimism even as GDP growth remains positive, depressing overall sentiment today nationwide.
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Midterms hinge on economy
Polling ahead of the US midterm elections has looked grim for Republicans, with the economy driving voters’ choices as 84% of registered voters said the economy was very important to their vote in early October 2026. The Conversation’s Erin Kay Lockwood wrote that consumer sentiment keeps slipping and is now 10% below where it was a year ago, even as gross domestic product growth remains strong and unemployment stays low. The same analysis said inflation dropped from 9.1% in June 2022 to 3.7% in September 2026, yet consumer sentiment remained lower than it was even then.
The analysis also tied the mood shift to inequality, saying the richest 10% of Americans account for half of that spending today while spending by the bottom 80% of earners has fallen behind inflation. The Conversation’s Logan Church was set to explain how the US midterm results would affect 1News at 6 on TVNZ1 and TVNZ+ Wednesday evening.
Trump’s ballot message
Donald Trump urged voters to “pretend I’m on the ballot,” and the AP account said the midterms could become a referendum on his performance over the last two years. The AP story said Democrats and nonpartisan observers trained tens of thousands of volunteers to monitor polling places because government watchdog groups feared Trump and his loyalists could interfere with the voting process on Election Day. The AP Voter Poll described how exit polling found that nearly 9 in 10 voters saw the cost of living as a crucial or major factor in their choice, and it said roughly two-thirds blamed Trump for high prices.
The AP Voter Poll also reported that three-quarters of voters described themselves as either angry or dissatisfied with the direction of the country, and it said concern about government corruption was widespread among those surveyed. The AP account added that Trump tried to shift blame during an interview with Fox News broadcast in the early hours of Wednesday, saying Democrats “did a good job” in their campaigns and blaming Republican candidates for defeats.
Who votes, what’s at stake
AP’s Voter Survey said young voters were less likely this year to back Republican candidates for the House of Representatives than they were when supporting Trump in 2024, and it reported that nearly 7 in 10 voters under 30 supported the Democratic candidate in their local House race.
The same AP survey said Hispanic voters were also less likely to vote for Republican candidates than they did for Trump two years ago, with only about a third of Hispanic voters saying they cast ballots for the Republican candidate for the federal House.
The AP Voter Survey further reported that about 6 in 10 Hispanic voters nationwide voted for the Democratic candidate in their local House race, and it said around 70% of Hispanic voters said Trump’s policies have worsened economic conditions in the United States.
The Boston Herald account said Democrats must flip four seats in the Senate and three seats in the House to wrest control of the chambers from Republicans, and it said control of Congress would give Democrats a way to push back against President Donald Trump’s agenda during the final two years of his term.
The Boston Herald also reported that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement warned voters on Election Day, writing: “If you vote illegally, we will find you. We will track you down, arrest you, and prosecute you. There will be no escape.”