by Elyse S. Apel
The Center Square Voters’ Voice Poll, conducted prior to the weekend assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump, found that likely voters said inflation/price increases (45%), illegal immigration (36%) and the economy/jobs (28%) were the issues that matter most to them heading into the November election.
The poll was conducted in conjunction with Noble Predictive Insights from July 8-11 and surveyed nearly 2,300 likely voters, including 1,006 Republicans, 1,117 Democrats, and 172 true (non-leaning) independents. It has a margin of error of 2.1%. The Center Square Voters’ Voice Poll is one of only six national tracking polls in the United States.
The percentage of voters concerned with illegal immigration was down from an earlier Center Square Voters’ Voice Poll conducted in March. At that time, 44% of likely voters said illegal immigration was a top-three issue.
Over that same period, voters have become more concerned with the economy/jobs, with that percentage rising from 24% to 28%.
The other top 10 issues in the July poll were abortion rights (26%), crime/violence (24%), climate change (18%), health care access (18%), government corruption (16%), high taxes (15%), and national debt/government spending (15%).
National security, voting rights, and partisan misuse of the Justice Department did not make the top 10.
“This is a sign that not that much has changed,” David Byler of Noble Predictive Insights told The Center Square. “On the economic front, inflation is still an incredibly painful issue for people.”
While 55% of Republicans identified inflation as a great concern, only 37% of Democrats did. True independents were more concerned than Democrats, at 44%.
This could be a factor in swinging independents toward voting for Trump, especially as they were also significantly more likely than Democrats to disapprove of President Joe Biden’s handling of the economy.
Overall, the poll shows, even though inflation is down from a 9.1% high two years ago, consumers continue to be concerned with the historically high prices they face.
This comes as unemployment is also on the rise, likely contributing to the increase in concern about the economy/jobs.
All of this translates into a bump in polling for Trump, who continues to widen the gap between himself and Biden.
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Elyse Apel is an apprentice reporter with The Center Square, covering Georgia and North Carolina. She is a 2024 graduate of Hillsdale College.
