Midterm Elections 2026: Voters Head to the Polls in a Sour Economic Mood, With Prices Top of Mind
On the eve of elections that will decide whether Republicans keep control of Congress, a Reuters analysis finds voters blaming tariffs and the Iran war for nagging inflation — even as unemployment sits at 4.2 percent and the economy grew 3.4 percent last quarter.
American voters head into Tuesday's midterm elections in a sour economic mood, with high and rising prices the key issue on their minds and many blaming President Donald Trump's policies — specifically tariffs and the Iran war — for nagging inflation, according to a Reuters analysis read by the Politics Desk this cycle. Trump is not on the ballot on November 3, but the elections will decide whether his Republican Party keeps control of Congress, and voters have his economic record in mind as they head to the polls, in Los Angeles County and across the country.
The underlying numbers tell a more complex story, the analysis found. The unemployment rate was 4.2 percent in September and has measured no higher than 4.5 percent for five straight years, weekly unemployment insurance claims are near a 57-year low, and the U.S. economy grew at a 3.4 percent annualized pace last quarter, its strongest performance this year. But consumer prices and average hourly earnings have both risen about 5.5 percent since January 2025, leaving workers no worse off in purchasing power — and no better off — than when Trump took office, and the University of Michigan's consumer sentiment index has registered a near-record low even as the Conference Board's confidence measure perked up in October.
Economists quoted in the analysis warned of fragility beneath the surface: a wave of corporate earnings from companies including Amazon and Intel added to worries about the sustainability of the AI spending boom and sent the Nasdaq Composite sharply lower as the elections neared, while the Federal Reserve raised its policy rate in September and is expected to do so again in December. For Los Angeles County voters, the economy frames a long local ballot on Tuesday — governor and statewide offices, Congress, and state and local measures — with all 646 county vote centers open Monday from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. on the final early voting day and from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Election Day.
