Americans Swayed More By Candidates Views On Inflation Than Abortion: Poll

Yet another poll has come out showing voters are basing their decision on who to support in the 2022 midterm elections around their views on the economy, rather than social issues like abortion.

The Wednesday poll released by the Morning Consult and Politico shows 42 percent of respondents claiming economic issues—like taxes, wages, jobs, unemployment and spending—as their top concern entering this election season.

Meanwhile, the category of "women's issues"—labeled as birth control, abortion, and equal pay—dominated the agendas of just 14 percent of voters, only narrowly edging out the third-leading category that included issues like national security concerns and the border crisis.

While the issue of abortion access played a key role in the reversal of Democrats' poll numbers after the Supreme Court's repeal of the 1973 Roe v. Wade case, poll after poll has shown the economy to be the main driver of voter enthusiasm entering the final months of the 2022 election cycle, even as some facets of the economy—like gas prices—have begun to improve. In July, 15 percent of respondents to a Morning Consult poll at the time cited issues like abortion as their top concern, with the economy continuing to dominate the motivations of a plurality of voters.

However, it's unclear how much impact concerns over the economy will have on the outcome of battleground races around the country where other issues—like crime, abortion, and gun control—have come to define individual campaigns on a more regional basis.

Though more than half of respondents in Politico's poll said abortion will play a significant factor in their decision to vote this cycle—a trend that favors Democrats by 22 percentage points—an additional 21 percent more said inflation was a major contributing factor in their decision to vote this cycle. However, when asked about inflation, only 9 percent more respondents said they trusted Republicans than Democrats; a lukewarm showing for a party that has made inflation and the economy a central tenet of their election strategy this cycle.

And while some—like Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders—have urged Democratic candidates to expand their platforms ahead of election day, abortion has remained the most-discussed issue pushed by Democratic campaigns in more competitive battleground states where abortion is under threat at the state level. On Tuesday, President Joe Biden announced his support for legislation to codify abortion rights if Democrats held their majority in Congress, a statement seen by some observers as an effort to offset a resurgent GOP in the closing weeks of the campaign.

"Right now, we're short a handful of votes. If you care about the right to choose then you got to vote," he said during a Tuesday speech at the Democratic National Committee in Washington, D.C. "That's why these midterm elections are so critical to elect more Democratic senators in the United States Senate and more Democrats to keep control the House of Representatives."

The issue of abortion as a wedge in individual races cannot be understated either. After it was revealed Georgia anti-abortion U.S. Senate candidate Herschel Walker paid for a former girlfriend's abortion, several polls in-state all showed a tangible increase in favorability for his Democratic opponent, Raphael Warnock.