This Is Where Inflation Runs Hottest in America. Just Ask Voters

Soaring prices have become a focal point of Arizona Senator Mark Kelly's re-election campaign — and he sees a path to victory that veers from President Joe Biden.

Phoenix, Arizona.

Photographer: Pat Kofahl/500px/Getty Images
Lock
This article is for subscribers only.

Few places in the U.S. have felt the sting of inflation like Arizona’s largest city, Phoenix, an unwelcome problem for Democratic Senator Mark Kelly as he wages a re-election bid that is crucial to his party’s efforts to keep control of Congress.

Costs for housing, food and fuel are running higher there than in any similar-sized metropolitan area, adding financial strain for a border-state electorate that’s on edge over the White House’s move to lift pandemic-related restrictions at the U.S.-Mexico border. Similar economic pain has taken hold across the country, with the Federal Reserve only recently undertaking interest-rate hikes aimed at easing the situation.