Soaring inflation trapped with major campaign headwinds for Democrats: ‘a stimulus issue’

Thursday Inflation figures He said consumer prices rose faster than expected in September, and inflation remained near 40-year highs, likely bolstering voters’ concerns about the state of the economy as they head to the polls in November.

It was the last report on consumer inflation that voters will see before they vote on November 8, and election watchers said inflation appears likely to be a major issue for voters, even as other issues like abortion and democracy vie for their attention.

“It’s the kind of thing that affects everyone at every level of our social and economic situation,” Matt Germer, a resident election fellow at the libertarian R Street Institute, told Fox News Digital.

“We all buy groceries, we buy gasoline, we pay utility bills. And when those bills go up month after month, it puts budgets under pressure. And that’s the thing that motivates people in November.”

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The Labor Department said Thursday that the Consumer Price Index, a broad measure of the prices of everyday goods, including gasoline, groceries and rents, rose 0.4% in September from the previous month. Prices increased by 8.2% on an annual basis.

Those numbers were higher than the 8.1% headline and 0.2% monthly increase that economists at Refinitiv had expected. In a worrying development indicating that core inflationary pressures in the economy remain strong, core prices, which exclude the most volatile measures of food and energy, rose 0.6% in September from the previous month. Compared to the same time last year, core prices jumped 6.6%, the fastest since 1982.

Republicans have been attacking Democrats on this issue for the past year and seem ready to continue striking their opponents on the issue until Election Day.

“Every American deals with out-of-control price hikes caused by the Democrats’ reckless spending. Which is why survey after survey shows inflation is the number one issue to enter the midterm.” Republican National Congressional Committee spokesman Mike Berg told Fox News Digital.

Democrats argue that they have moved key legislation aimed at lowering inflation, including the bipartisan Infrastructure Bill and the Inflation Reduction Act, Although Republicans dispute this claim In fact, low inflation.

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“The only party that has an actual economic plan is the Democratic Party,” Tommy Garcia, a spokesman for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, told Fox News Digital. “We will spend every day remaining on this campaign reminding voters that despite the Republicans’ obstruction, Democrats have taken bold action to cut costs, put millions of Americans to work and protect Americans’ reproductive freedoms.”

Gas prices are displayed at a station in Annapolis, Maryland in March 2022 amid price hikes linked to the Russian war on Ukraine. (Jim Watson/AFP via Getty Images/Getty Images)

Inflation is still high on voters’ minds, but other issues that may be more favorable for Democrats are being recorded in recent polls.

in Fox News Poll Conducted last month in Arizona, inflation tied abortion at 17% to the third most important issue for voters. Two issues were linked for the first time to 18% – border security and the preservation of American democracy.

A Fox News poll in Wisconsin revealed that inflation was the second most important issue among voters in that state at 20%. Conservation of American democracy ranked first with 24%. Abortion was delayed by 16%.

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in Pennsylvania Inflation has been pegged at 21%. The most important issue with preserving American democracy. Abortion was recorded in 15%.

A shopper looks at organic produce at a supermarket in Montebello, California, August 23, 2022. (Frederick J. Brown/AFP via Getty Images)/Getty Images)

But Germer says that when voters head to the polls, inflation is likely to be the ultimate issue driving how they vote.

“For months, Democrats have been trying to make abortion an issue in the election cycle,” Germer said. “And there are certainly some people out there where that’s the issue that really motivates them. But that’s not most people.”

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“I think the elections are important,” Germer added. “I think there are some good ideas for reform.” “I care deeply about it. But it’s not the issue that drives people. It’s inflation.”

Megan Heaney of FOX Business contributed to this report.