Business

One in 3 say family falling behind financially: poll

by Brad Dress - 11/08/22 6:31 PM ET

FILE - An elderly shopper wears personal protective equipment as she browses the meat section of a grocery store on April 18, 2020, in the Harlem neighborhood of the Manhattan borough of New York. — (AP Photo/John Minchillo, File)
FILE – An elderly shopper wears personal protective equipment as she browses the meat section of a grocery store on April 18, 2020, in the Harlem neighborhood of the Manhattan borough of New York. As war, climate change and inequality consumed much of the 2022 U.N. General Assembly, leaders largely left unsaid the historic growth of the planet’s aging population. (AP Photo/John Minchillo, File)

A third of Americans say they have fallen behind financially, twice as high as the number of U.S. voters who said the same in 2020, according to The Associated Press’s AP VoteCast.

Over the past year, prices have skyrocketed and the annual inflation rate has hovered around 8 percent. Ordinary expenses, including groceries, rent and gas, are eating into Americans’ paychecks.

According to AP VoteCast, a third of Americans said they are not confident they can keep up with expenses.

About half of voters in the survey said rising grocery prices were the most significant concern for them, much higher than gas, housing and health care expenses.

Recent 2022 polling shows that Republicans are poised to take over the House and have a good chance of taking over the Senate amid the U.S.’s current economic woes.

GOP candidates across the nation hammered have Democrats on the the economy throughout the campaign cycle.

Half of voters said inflation was a significant issue that factored into their vote, according to the AP survey, while about 44 percent said the future of democracy was a major concern influencing their vote.

About 7 in 10 Americans say abortion rights were a significant factor in their vote. Democrats campaigned aggressively on the issue after the Supreme Court overturned the constitutional right to abortion over the summer.

Meanwhile, Americans are split on whether President Biden is to blame for the high inflation rate, with half in the survey saying the president was at fault and another half saying there were factors outside of his control.

AP VoteCast polled 90,490 voters over nine days across the country. NORC at the University of Chicago helped conduct the survey.