Americans grow increasingly frustrated with the miserable economy, which presents particular hurdles for workers of modest means. These angst-ridden masses of struggling citizens blame Biden for their woes, as proven by brand new battleground polling.
In addition, these voters long for the more prosperous days of President Trump. According to the corporate media narrative, the economy is just swell. But regular Americans know better, and they resent the propaganda attempts to make them believe a lie about their own challenging financial reality.
These are tough economic times of tremendous anxiety across the land, and the latest polling proves this point.
My populist laborers’ organization, the League of American Workers, just canvassed the critical swing state of Arizona. Our pollster, North Star Opinion Research, queried 600 likely voters, evenly split between Trump and Biden 2020 voters.
Overall, Trump leads by 4% in Arizona, a state where Joe Biden prevailed by a razor-thin 10,000-vote margin out of the 3.3 million votes cast in that election. Trump’s 46-42% margin (with 12% undecided) flows mostly from economic disenchantment with Biden and a longing for the more prosperous days of President Trump in the White House. Trump also leads by 4% in a multi-candidate field, with Robert F. Kennedy Jr. stalking Joe Biden with 18% of the vote in Arizona.
On the key decision point of Trump vs. Biden on the economy, the former president enjoys a stunning 18% advantage over Biden. When asked if they were better off under Trump or Biden, citizens of the Grand Canyon State break 53-35% for Trump, a huge margin yearning for the days of the Trump boom.
That gap grows even wider for those of modest means. For example, among working-class white men, 66% said they were better off under Trump, and only 26% preferred Biden. Within the key Hispanic demographic of Arizona, Trump enjoys a +8% margin on the issue of better prosperity. That Hispanic gap alone could swing the state to Trump, given the importance of that formerly-dependable Democratic voting bloc that now swings to the political right.
On that issue of normally Democratic-leaning constituencies, Trump also leads on the better prosperity question among women by +8%. This preference for Trump is particularly impressive because women tend to do the bookkeeping in most households and pay the bills.
As such, women are particularly aware of the spiraling costs of the staples of life under Biden. For example, Biden’s own Department of Agriculture recently updated the pricing for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, popularly known as “food stamps.” For a family of four on the “thrifty” USDA food stamps plan, only purchases of staple food items are accounted for, not any luxury items. Those basic grocery costs under Biden have vaulted higher by 44%, from $675/month in 2021 to $975/month now.
We asked Arizona voters if Biden was responsible for this increase in food costs. Overall, 66% of Arizonans blame Biden either “a great deal” or “some” for the spiking costs of groceries. Importantly, among undecided presidential preference voters in Arizona, a whopping 81% blame Biden for higher food costs.
These Arizona results mirror similar results in other swing states, including Michigan, which we just polled and stands at a dead-heat 43-43% tie right now in another state where Biden prevailed last time around. In fact, all across the battleground states—Georgia, North Carolina, and Wisconsin—the same macro theme emerges from our extensive surveys. Voters have many worries, from the effectively open border to increasingly unsafe streets in America. But the number one worry, consistently, involves an economy that only works well for the credentialed elites while the working-class masses suffer.
This politician who constantly claims the mantle of blue-collar advocacy, the supposed “Scranton Joe,” actually only serves the interests of the plutocrats and the already successful. The aspirational strivers of society are left out in the cold because of Bidenomics, and this Arizona polling proves it.
In contrast, candidates who offer a growth agenda for Main St. citizens will win in November. That economic populist agenda includes protection of American workers from predatory trade practices, on-shoring of production back to our land, and a secure border that stops the incessant flow of illegal workers into our country to compete against citizens in the labor markets. From President Trump down to local races, the stage is set for big patriotic populist wins on the primary issue of the economy.
Steve Cortes is a former senior advisor to President Trump, former commentator for Fox News and CNN, and president of the League of American Workers, a populist right pro-laborer advocacy group.