Americans giving midterms less thought, are less enthusiastic than four years ago: survey

Americans are giving less thought to the midterm elections this year and are less enthused about voting than they were in 2018, according to a new Gallup survey.

About 49 percent of Americans say in the poll released Tuesday they have given “quite a lot” of thought to this year’s congressional elections, down from 54 percent in 2018, a historic turnout year for a midterm election.

Additionally, about 44 percent of Americans say they have given the elections “a little” thought this year.

Gallup notes the amount of thought given to elections is historically tied to voter turnout levels. While the 49 percent of Americans who have given the elections “quite a lot” of thought this month is smaller than in 2018, it’s average for most midterm election years.

When broken down by party affiliation, about 57 percent of both Republicans and Democrats surveyed are giving the elections this year “quite a lot” of thought.

Gallup also measures enthusiasm, or how well Democrats and Republicans think their party will fare in the elections.

This year, 46 percent of Americans are enthusiastic about the elections, down 18 points from 2018. Roughly 42 percent of Americans say they are less enthusiastic about the elections this year.

About 57 percent of Democrats are enthused about the elections this year, while 49 percent of Republicans say the same.

Still, Gallup estimates that “neither party has a definitive edge when it comes to voter engagement,” and voters are engaged on several issues, including the economy, inflation and abortion.

Early voting is already underway in several states, and Election Day is now just a week out.

This election year has seen high-stakes races across the board as both Republicans and Democrats vie for control of Congress.

The survey was conducted from Oct. 3 to Oct. 20 among 1,009 adults. The margin of error is 4 percentage points.