“As many as a quarter economically driven Biden voters don’t want the Democratic Party in charge anymore.”
The divide between the middle class and elites is only widening as skyrocketing inflation, higher gas prices, and a tepid economic recovery push economic issues front and center.
Last week, Market Research Foundation noted close to two-thirds of voters say their number one issue is something directly related to the rising cost of living. The latest Monmouth University poll shows a full third of voters (33%) say inflation is their number one issue, followed by gas prices (15%), the economy overall (9%), and paying for bills and groceries (6%).
This translates to 63% of Americans saying they are most concerned with immediate economic issues, over any number of distant political narratives peddled by the ruling elites.
Now polling from the New York Times/Siena College shows wealthy white liberals are significantly more likely to prioritize social issues like abortion and gun control, while working class whites and minorities are focused on tangible economic issues. A focus on the economy is also closely linked to preference for a GOP-controlled Congress this fall.
The pollsters found those who say the economy is their number one issue prefer Republican control of Congress 62% to 25%. The Times was careful to point out voters who are economically motivated skew less affluent and are more likely to be nonwhite than voters who prioritize social issues.
Those who say the economy is their number one issue say they prefer Republican control of Congress 62% to 25%.
These economically motivated voters are not necessarily conservative on social issues. For example, more than half of the voters who said the economy was their biggest concern also said abortion should be mostly legal.
As the Times points out, the Democratic party is continuing to drive away minorities and the middle-class, drawing its support mostly from wealthy white liberals.
“For the first time in a Times/Siena national survey, Democrats had a larger share of support among white college graduates than among nonwhite voters — a striking indication of the shifting balance of political energy in the Democratic coalition”, writes the Times. “As recently as the 2016 congressional elections, Democrats won more than 70 percent of nonwhite voters while losing among white college graduates.”
The Time points out only 17 percent of white college-educated Biden voters prioritize economic issues, the lowest percentage for any ethnic or educational group.
But even still, the share of Americans who prioritize abortion or gun control is slim. The Times points out that only about one in six registered voters combined say either gun issues or abortion is the most important problem facing the country. Those who do prioritize gun control or abortion prefer Democratic control of Congress, 68 percent to 8 percent.
Only about one in six registered voters combined say either gun issues or abortion is the most important problem facing the country.
The Times also shows only 74% percent of Democrats who supported Biden in 2020 and prioritize the economy now say they want a Democratic controlled Congress. In other words, as many as a quarter economically driven Biden voters do not want the Democratic Party in charge anymore.
