A new Wall Street Journal poll finds just 19% of Americans say the economy is on the right track.
Why it matters: The poll, conducted by Trump pollster Tony Fabrizio and Biden pollster John Anzalone, adds to a raft of signs that a disillusioned, anxious electorate is ready to use the midterms next Tuesday to punish the party in power.
The poll illustrates a three-step dance:
- If you don't follow politics obsessively, you're probably voting on pocketbook issues.
- If you're voting your pocketbook, you're worried about inflation.
- If you're worried about inflation, you're trending Republican.
Between the lines: In fresh evidence that economic and personal security (crime) surpass abortion as a top issue, the poll finds white suburban women favor Republicans by 15 points.
- In August, that swing constituency backed Democrats by double-digits.
- Over one-third of white suburban women rated rising prices as the top issue motivating them. Only 16% named abortion rights as their top concern.
Zoom in: The poll finds Republicans now leading on the generic Congressional ballot, 46-44%.
- It's a decisive shift from the three-point lead Democrats held in the August WSJ poll, when liberal anger over the Supreme Court's abortion ruling reached a peak.
The bottom line: The poll also tested a hypothetical rematch between President Biden and Donald Trump in 2024. It found them tied at 46%.
The Wall Street Journal poll, conducted from Oct. 22-26, included 1,500 registered voters who were reached by phone and text. It has a margin of error of plus-minus 2.5 percentage points.
