President Donald Trump suffered a set of heavy losses for Republicans in Tuesday’s midterm elections, as rising prices weighed on voters in House, Senate and gubernatorial races. According to the AP Voter Poll, a survey of roughly 100,000 midterm voters, most said Trump’s own policies had slowed growth and pushed costs higher.
About two-thirds of voters said Trump’s policies had fueled inflation. Only about half of 2022 midterm voters said the same about Biden’s policies, according to AP VoteCast. Many voters also said Trump’s tariffs on foreign imports have done more harm than good, a view shared from California to Mississippi.
Consumer prices are up 3.7% over the past 12 months, compared with 3% when Trump began his second term. Trump told reporters the war with Iran, launched in February, pushed gasoline prices up in the short term, and he said he would make the same choice again.
The poll also found that about 9 in 10 voters called the cost of living a crucial or major factor in their vote for Congress. About 6 in 10 of those voters backed Democrats in their local House races. Voters were also uneasy about artificial intelligence, with about 6 in 10 saying it will do more harm than good to society.
Voters with lower incomes were the most likely to say they were worse off than two years ago. Most said the economy favors the wealthy, and about 6 in 10 wanted the government to play a bigger role in lowering health care costs.
