Democrats favored on cost of living in new survey

Registered voters prefer Democrats’ approach to tackling the cost of living over Republican plans as the issue remains a top concern ahead of the November midterms, according to a new survey.

The latest poll rom Reuters/Ipsos shows that 36 percent of respondents prefer the Democratic way, while 28 percent said they would prefer the GOP’s approach. The remainder said they were unsure or did not support either plan.

The statistic marks the largest advantage Democrats have had since the pollster started asking respondents the question last October — steadily growing close to one year later and amid rising costs as a result of inflation and the Iran war’s impact on energy prices.

Most American adults also disapprove of President Trump’s approach to the cost of living, with 70 percent saying as much. Roughly 21 percent said the opposite, the survey found.

The overwhelming majority of Democrats in the poll disapprove, at 93 percent while only 3 percent said they supported Trump’s approach. Independents follow with about 75 percent disapproving his handling of the issue compared to only 12 percent who favor it.

Most Republicans support Trump’s approach, though a large chunk of GOP respondents also disapprove, with 52 percent to 39 percent, respectively.

But on the economy, Democrats and Republicans are roughly tied in who has the better approach, at 35 percent to 33 percent, the numbers show.

Democrats surpassed Republicans on the issue in a separate poll from Reuters/Ipsos earlier this month , after the GOP was perceived as having the better economic agenda since at least January 2025, when Trump returned to the White House.

Similar results were seen in a recent Economist/YouGov poll , where 39 percent of respondents said they believe Democrats do “a better job handling” the economy compared to 32 percent who said the same of Republicans.

Democratic candidates have made affordability a central plank of their campaigns since it proved to be a key issue going into the 2025 elections. Republicans have also made attempts to focus on cost-of-living concerns, though Trump attempted to dismiss it late last year and into 2026 by calling the issue a hoax perpetuated by Democrats.

In February, he claimed to have “ won affordability ” and inflation during a speech at a Georgia rally, adding that he “inherited a mess.”

The annual inflation rate declined slightly to 3.4 percent in July, which remains above the Federal Reserve’s targeted 2 percent, after it reached 3.5 percent in June.

The Reuters/Ipsos survey was conducted Aug. 21-24 and included 1,215 respondents, including 951 registered voters. The margin of error is 3 percentage points.