Most Americans point to inflation as biggest issue ahead of election: Survey

Nearly two-thirds of Americans say inflation is a very serious problem heading into the November election, and voters are more likely to trust former President Trump to handle the issue over President Biden, according to a new poll.

The latest YouGov poll, released Friday, found that inflation tops the list of issues voters surveyed identified among their top concerns, with 64 percent of respondents saying it is a major problem.

The survey included 25 issues to rank as a serious problem, somewhat serious problem, minor problem or not a problem.

Other issues that ranked among voters’ most serious concerns included corruption (57 percent), drug abuse (56 percent), homelessness (55 percent), weakening of democracy (54 percent) and a shortage of affordable housing (54 percent).

About half said violent crime (51 percent), gun violence (51 percent), illegal immigration (50 percent), and poverty (49 percent) are very serious problems the country faces.

Religious prejudice (25 percent), sexism (22 percent) and lack of public transportation (17 percent) were the issues that were least likely to be named among the most serious issues on the list.

The poll also found a deep partisan divide on the most pressing issues facing the country. A majority of Democrats surveyed said the most serious problems are gun violence (76 percent) and climate change (70 percent). Republicans, on the other hand, ranked inflation (82 percent) and illegal immigration (79 percent) as their top concerns.

For 23 of the 25 problems polled, more Americans surveyed said they strongly or somewhat approve of Trump’s handling versus Biden’s.

Of people who identified inflation as a very serious problem, 60 percent said they approve of the former president’s plans to address the issue, compared to 15 percent who said the same for Biden’s handling of record-high inflation.

Investors and economists have warned that inflation could rise under the policies Trump and Republicans have proposed if they manage to sweep the upcoming elections.

The Labor Department this week reported the consumer price index (CPI) dipped to a 3 percent annual increase in June, down from 3.3 percent in May, marking the first month of price declines since the pandemic.

“Today’s report shows that we are making significant progress fighting inflation,” Biden boasted of the news.

Prices have remained at least 3 percent higher than a year ago — far from the Federal Reserve’s 2 percent target.

On other concerns, voters were not as optimistic about either candidate’s ability to handle. More than half of respondents (55 percent) in the survey said they consider homelessness a very serious issue, but among them, only 25 percent approve of Biden’s handling, while 29 percent approve of Trump’s.

The YouGov poll includes responses from 2,272 adult citizens surveyed July 1-6. It has a margin of error of 2.8 percentage points.