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Economy’s coming back like a 90’s trend.
These days it really feels like time is a flat circle. Republicans are signing a contract with America, we have another internet bubble in the form of cryptocurrency, and Matthew Perry is beefing with Keanu Reeves for some reason?? We don’t really understand it either.
What we do understand, though, are ELECTIONS! We’re in the final stretch of the 2022 midterm election cycle, where the issues that are on the minds of voters across the country will have massive implications for races up and down the ballot.
Our October polling finds that economic concerns remain top of mind ahead of the midterms. When asked which issues are the three most important for a candidate for Congress to focus on, 45 percent of likely voters choose inflation. The next most common responses are: jobs and the economy, immigration, and crime and public safety.
In our September survey, we found that inflation was a top issue for 37 percent of likely voters. October’s survey then shows an 8-point increase in the percentage of voters who rank inflation as a top issue.
Read the full blog and polling here.
Here are some other highlights from DFP this week:
Halloween Costume Idea: Sexy Sheldon Whitehouse.
This Halloween, nothing is spookier than climate change. And not just because a finance bro dressed in a Tom Brady jersey is 10x more likely to corner you at a bar and mansplain the Inflation Reduction Act (based on true events. Absolutely terrifying). No, what’s truly frightening is our outdated electrical grids preventing us from reaching a clean energy future. But have no fear, Sexy Senator Sheldon Whitehouse is trying to change that.
A new poll by Data for Progress finds 74% of voters believe it’s urgent to develop new energy infrastructure projects to expand America’s power grid so our electricity grids can better handle renewable energy. This includes 86% of Democrats, 75% of Independents, and 62% of Republicans.
Also, Data for Progress finds 71 percent of voters support the Streamlining Interstate Transmission of Electricity (SITE) Act, including Democrats by a +73-point margin, Independents by a +58-point margin, and Republicans by a +45-point margin. The SITE Act would make it easier to construct long-range, interregional high voltage transmission lines.
If we can pass the SITE Act and develop new energy infrastructure projects, we would be taking a major step towards making climate change slightly less spooky. But for now, Sexy Wildfire and Sexy Natural Gas Pipeline are still completely valid Halloween costumes.
Read the full blog by Sexy Sheldon and polling here.
The Republicans are absolutely going to hate this blog. But the Republicans don’t support veterans. Democrats do (we’re trying).
Republicans talk a big game when it comes to supporting veterans. They just love pulling out the American flag, aggressively singing the national anthem, and claiming that they will walk through fire for our nation’s veterans.
However, this is also the party that elected someone who said they preferred veterans who weren't captured, so let’s take everything they say with a grain of salt. Still, the Republican Party’s messaging on veterans has generally worked. We apologize for this jump scare before Halloween, but 51% of voters think that the Republican Party is the most supportive of Veterans, including 12% of Democrats and 43% of Independents. This simply isn’t true!! Despite Republican efforts to (gasp) block legislation, Democrats have passed laws that increase benefits for veterans.
In August, President Biden signed into law the Honoring Our Promise to Address Comprehensive Toxics (PACT) Act, which will provide healthcare and benefits to veterans who have chronic illnesses as a result of exposure to toxins while serving overseas. While this bill seems like a no-brainer, Republican senators voted against the bill and only relented after significant outrage and pressure from advocates. While Republicans claimed that they were holding up the bill over a budgetary concern, Democrats argued that they were retaliating after Senate Democrats reached an agreement on the Inflation Reduction Act. Republicans were willing to use veterans as political pawns, revealing the discrepancy between voter perception of Republicans and the actual reality in Congress.
Data for Progress finds 92% of voters support the Honoring our PACT Act, including 95% of Democrats, 90% of Independents, and 91% of Republicans. Super quirky of Senate Republicans to claim they support veterans and then initially block this bill.
As we get closer to election day, Democrats need to be vocal about the efforts they made to support veterans. Republicans literally said gaslight, girlboss, gatekeep when it comes to veterans affairs but in reality, all they're doing is gaslighting voters.
Read the full blog and polling here.
When Republicans are asked if they care about other people, they say “🤷”
The Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) has protected undocumented youth, or “Dreamers,” from deportation for years. However, that legislation is now being challenged in federal court, freezing DACA in place and preventing new applicants from applying. A ruling earlier this year said that DACA was unlawful, but the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit temporarily extended DACA earlier this month.
It’s been an uphill battle for DACA recipients, and the extension only provides temporary relief. It would be cruel if Dreamers faced deportation after growing up and building lives in the United States. Republicans, we don’t know how to explain to you that you should care about other people, but let’s start with this lesson: deporting people who have spent their entire lives in this country is not good. Data for Progress finds 58% of voters support DACA, including 79% of Democrats, 58% of Independents, and 37% of Republicans.
Congress can pass legislation to protect DACA, but a potential bill would need at least 10 Republican Senators to pass. Can you think of a time when 10 Republican Senators have come through to do the right thing? Seriously. Can you? We’re struggling to come up with an answer on that one.
The American Dream and Promise Act, which was passed by the House of Representatives in 2021, would provide a pathway to citizenship for Dreamers. 61% of voters support a pathway to citizenship, including 79% of Democrats, 59% of Independents, and 43% of Republicans.
Now, if Senate Republicans could step up and protect people who have contributed to this country for years, that would be lovely.
Read the full blog and polling here.
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