Economics
Inflation-Focused Voters Defy Biden’s Bid to Change the Subject
Efforts by the president and allies in Congress to steer the conversation to labor market recovery and other achievements aren’t gaining traction.
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After months of talk about reproductive rights, threats to democracy, climate change, immigration and crime, the US midterm elections are coming down to the way Americans feel about the overall state of the economy and, in particular, inflation.
The last time voters called inflation the top issue during an election year was in August 1982, says Jeff Jones, a senior editor of the Gallup Poll. Back then, the country was in the grips of a deepening recession and a Republican was in the White House. This time around, “inflation has been up there as a top issue all year,” Jones says.