Poll: Voters backing Democrats more willing to switch votes over living costs in midterms

Voters supporting Democratic congressional candidates say they are more willing than those backing Republicans to cross party lines in the midterms if they believe the opposing party offers the best plan to lower living costs, a new Rasmussen Reports and Our Republic survey found.

The national survey of 1,026 U.S. likely voters conducted Sept. 20 found that 19% of those currently backing Democrats said they would vote Republican instead if they believed the GOP had the best plan to lower the cost of groceries, gasoline, and clothing. By comparison, 11% of voters supporting Republican candidates said they would vote Democratic under the same circumstances. 

On housing, 16% of voters backing Democrats said they would switch their vote if they believed Republicans had the best plan to lower housing costs, twice the 8% of Republican supporters who said they would switch if they believed Democrats had the best plan. 

Democrats led Republicans 49% to 43% when respondents were asked which party’s congressional candidate they would support if the election were held that day.

The questions asked about hypothetical plans rather than specific proposals from either party, and the pollsters grouped respondents by their current congressional voting preference. The survey reported a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 3 percentage points for the full sample.

Among voters supporting another candidate or unsure of their congressional choice, 35% said they would be willing to vote for whichever party had the best plan to lower the cost of groceries, gasoline, and clothing. Twenty-four percent said the same about housing.

A separate AP-NORC poll of 2,140 U.S. adults, conducted Sept. 24-28, found that 26% approved of President Donald Trump’s handling of the economy, and 17% approved of his handling of the cost of living. 

Justin Haskins, president and senior fellow at Our Republic, argued that the Rasmussen Reports results point to the importance of economic issues in the November midterms.

“These results clearly suggest that economic issues will play an important role in determining who ultimately wins the 2026 election,” he said, according to Rasmussen Reports. “Significant numbers of voters say they are willing to cross party lines if the other party offers what they believe is a better plan for lowering the cost of everyday necessities, including housing, groceries, gasoline, and clothing.”

>> Pew survey: Economy tops voters’ midterm agenda; Democrats hold early edge <<

The findings come as Republicans emphasize affordability ahead of the midterms. Senate Republicans recently pushed legislation aimed at shielding households from higher electricity costs tied to data center expansion, but the measure failed to advance Sept. 30 amid Democratic opposition. Vice President JD Vance has also discussed economic concerns in recent weeks, touting the administration’s tax cuts at an Oct. 1 rally in Florida and blaming the Biden administration for voters’ financial frustrations.