In new NPR/PBS NewsHour/Marist polling ahead of Election Day, Democrats are ahead by some 14 percent among women identified as from suburban or small city communities who were asked which party they would support in this year’s Congressional elections.
A full 53 percent of the group picked Democrats, while only 39 percent said Republicans. Among men in the same communities, the trend was reversed, with 41 percent favoring Democrats but 52 percent behind the GOP. Democrats and Republicans were tied, with 46 percent apiece, among overall registered voters, while Republicans clocked a three percent lead among those identified as definitely voting in this year’s elections. Democrats were ahead by double digits among those who have already voted, which tracks with other available data showing Democrats casting more of the early vote, so far, than Republicans. Nationwide, tens of millions of people already voted, although millions and millions of votes remain. According to data from the political analytics firm TargetSmart, early voters accounted for just 19.4 percent of the national total in the 2018 midterm elections.
In the new polling from Marist, Republicans led by double digits among independents. As other polls have found and as real-world circumstances would suggest, many voters said inflation when asked for their primary concern heading into the election. A full 36 percent of registered voters named inflation as “top of mind” when considering casting a ballot this year. Preserving democracy was second among overall registered voters, with abortion third. Among Democrats, preserving democracy was the primary concern, while among Republicans, those naming inflation reached an overall majority. Biden has taken numerous actions furthering the fight against inflation, although the president’s efforts are separate from those of the Federal Reserve, which continues raising interest rates in its own push to tamp down demand with an aim of curtailing prices. Biden has addressed supply issues through means like supporting the U.S. manufacture of key technological components and legislation addressing shipping costs for products moving both into and out of the U.S.
Meanwhile, Biden himself will be appearing this weekend in Pennsylvania in support of Democratic Senate candidate John Fetterman, for whom the president has previously expressed support. Fetterman is facing Trump-backed Republican Mehmet Oz in a race in which polling has suddenly tightened, although over a million Pennsylvanians already voted. Former President Barack Obama, who has made campaign stops in states including Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, Wisconsin, and Arizona, will join Biden and Fetterman Saturday in Pennsylvania.
