More than 68% of likely general election voters reported that the increasing cost of food was either “somewhat” or “very much” motivating them to vote in the upcoming midterm elections, according to a Monday poll from the Trafalgar Group.
The motivating pressure is more pronounced in 18-25 year-olds, Hispanics and Republicans, who were “very much” motivated to vote at rates of 61.9%, 60.6% and 71.1%, respectively, according to the Trafalgar Group. The poll was conducted from Sept. 17 to 20 after a hotter-than-expected inflation report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics revealed that the cost of groceries rose annually in August by 13.5%, the highest rate since 1979. (RELATED: Despite Food Costs Skyrocketing, Biden Claims Victory At ‘Kitchen Table’)
A plurality of voters, 40%, consider inflation and economic health to be their top political issue, according to a recent poll by WPA Intelligence, which identifies itself as a company that specializes in electing conservatives in its Twitter bio. In general, voters believe Republicans would be better able to manage inflation as compared to Democrats, although neither party receives majority approval for their handling of inflation.
Some of the most dramatic price increases are in basics that families buy every week:
– Eggs (up a whopping 40% from last year)
– Butter and margarine (29%)
– Deli meats (18%)
– Milk (17%)
– Bread (17%)
– Cereal (17%)
– Canned vegetables (17%)
– Potatoes (15%)— Abha Bhattarai (@abhabhattarai) September 13, 2022
Beyond food prices, inflation remained near historic highs in August, at 8.3%, with so-called “core inflation,” which excludes food and energy as they are typically more volatile, shot up from 5.9% to 6.3%. This was similar to the core price behavior of the Personal Consumption Expenditures Price Index (PCE), the Federal Reserve’s preferred metric for inflation, as measured by the Bureau of Economic Analysis, with core inflation rising from 4.7 % to 4.9%.
Despite the fact that stocks closed in one of their worst quarters in over a decade Friday, experts do not anticipate that the Fed will halt its aggressive campaign of interest rate hikes.
The Trafalgar Group poll surveyed 1,079 respondents and had a 2.9% margin of error.
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