70% of Voters "Dissatisfied with Trump's Handling of Prices" as Midterms Near, Poll Finds Public Sentiment Worsening

FT Poll: 77% of Independents "Disapprove"
Gallup Poll Also Finds "Economy and Health Care Are Very Important Issues"

With the U.S. midterm elections just one day away, a poll found that 7 in 10 voters were dissatisfied with President Donald Trump’s handling of prices. Economic concerns have emerged as a key issue in the election amid rising energy prices caused by the war with Iran and the effects of tariff policies. As public sentiment worsens, Trump has emphasized that this is “the most important midterm election of our lifetime” and is making a final push to rally his supporters.

A voter leaves a community center in City of Industry, California, after casting a ballot in the midterm elections on the 2nd (local time). City of Industry, U.S. = Reuters-Yonhap.

Rising Prices and Cost of Living... Economy Takes Center Stage

According to the final pre-election poll conducted jointly by the Financial Times (FT) and polling firm Focaldata, released on Nov. 2 (local time), about 70% of voters disapproved of Trump’s handling of rising prices and the cost of living. Among independent voters in particular, the disapproval rate reached 77%. The share of all voters who disapproved rose 10 percentage points, from 58% in the first poll in May to 68% in the latest survey. The FT said soaring oil prices linked to Trump’s war with Iran and inflation were weighing on voters.

Other polls also confirm that economic concerns are a major factor in the midterm elections. According to results released on Oct. 29 by polling firm Gallup, 50% of registered U.S. voters named the economy and health care, respectively, as “very important” issues in their midterm vote. The share who considered the situation in Iran very important also reached 47%. Income and wealth distribution (44%), gas prices (42%), and immigration (40%) followed.

The share of voters who said the economy was “very important” was 50%, 16 percentage points higher than the 34% recorded in 2018, when midterm elections were held during Trump’s first term. The share who said income and wealth distribution was very important also rose from 32% in 2018 to 44% this year. The proportion who named gas prices as a very important issue likewise increased, from 32% in 2006 to 42% this year.

Democratic Senator Jon Ossoff speaks at an event in Decatur, Georgia, on the 2nd (local time), a day before the midterm elections. Decatur, Georgia, U.S. = Reuters-Yonhap News.

Democrats Lead, but Republicans Seen as Better on Immigration

As dissatisfaction with Trump’s economic policies grows, polls show Democrats leading Republicans. In an NBC News poll released on Nov. 1, 52% of respondents said they wanted Democrats to control the majority in Congress, 7 percentage points more than the 45% who chose Republicans. Among independent voters, Democrats led Republicans by 21 percentage points.

In the FT poll, about 14 percentage points more respondents chose Democrats than Republicans as the party better able to address rising prices and the cost of living.

The Democratic lead is also evident in key Senate battleground states. According to a New York Times (NYT)-Siena University poll released on Nov. 1, Democratic candidates led their Republican opponents in voter support in all seven states surveyed: Michigan, Texas, Maine, Kansas, Ohio, Alaska, and Iowa. Texas, in particular, is a traditionally Republican stronghold that has not elected a Democratic U.S. senator since 1988. There, Democratic candidate James Talarico had 50% support, 7 percentage points ahead of Republican candidate Ken Paxton, who had 43%.

U.S. President Donald Trump delivers a speech at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C., on the 2nd (local time), marking the end of his midterm election campaign. Washington, U.S. = AFP-Yonhap.

Moreover, signs of a rift are emerging among Republican supporters. In the NBC poll, 37% of Republican supporters said Trump had not done enough to fulfill his campaign promises. The share of Republican supporters who said the country was headed in the right direction fell to 48%, down from 75% a year earlier.

However, voters’ confidence in individual policies could become a factor. In the NBC poll, 45% of respondents chose Republicans as the party better able to handle immigration, 11 percentage points more than the 34% who chose Democrats. Republicans also had a higher favorability rating, at 38%, compared with 29% for Democrats. NBC said the Democrats’ lead was being driven more by opposition to Republicans than by strong support for Democrats.

Meanwhile, Trump attended an event at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C., on Nov. 2, where he urged voters to support Republicans in the final stretch, saying, “This is the most important midterm election of our lifetime.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.