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KEY TAKEAWAYS
- As voters deal with a high cost of living, the economy will affect how many Americans vote.
- Undecided voters are most supportive of preventing rapid price increases after crises and capping prescription drug prices. These policies have been mainly promoted by Vice President Kamala Harris’s campaign.
- Undecided voters are opposed to increasing tariffs and more presidential powers over the Federal Reserve, policies former president Donald Trump has said he will implement if elected.
The economy is the top issue in this year’s presidential campaign, and undecided voters are weighing which money topics matter most to them.
The economy has dominated voters’ concerns as they have struggled with high inflation and borrowing costs. According to a poll from the Pew Research Center earlier this month, 81% of voters said “the economy will be very important to their vote” for president.
Before Joe Biden ended his candidacy, voters consistently said they trusted former president Donald Trump to handle the economy more than the sitting president, according to surveys conducted by Morning Consult. However, Vice President Kamala Harris has been closing the gap on economic policy since she entered the race, Morning Consult found.
Of all the economic policies proposed on the campaign trail, undecided voters support two ideas offered by Harris’s campaign the most, according to a new survey by Morning Consult. The same group opposes two Trump policies the most.
Economic Policies Undecided Voters Support
Undecided voters support preventing rapid price increases after crises and capping prescription drug prices most; the Harris campaign has promoted both policies.
The vice president has said that her economic plan includes corporate crackdowns, which extends to a “federal ban on price gouging on food and groceries.” She has not gone into specifics about what exact behavior will be banned.
Capping prescription drug prices has been a hallmark of the Biden-Harris White House, which most recently negotiated with drug manufacturers to cut cost cuts on 10 widely prescribed medications for Medicare enrollees. Harris has promised to expand on that work.
Economic Policies Undecided Voters Oppose
Undecided voters most oppose increasing tariffs and presidential power over the Federal Reserve, both policies proposed by Trump.
Advisors to Trump have reportedly circulated plans to bring the central bank more under the president’s control. Economists have said that handing the Fed’s policy decisions over to a president would almost certainly lead to higher inflation.
Trump has also made increasing tariffs a cornerstone of his economic plan. He has proposed imposing tariffs of 60% or more on Chinese imports, as well as across-the-board tariffs of between 10% and 20%. Economists also oppose that plan, saying merchants would likely pass on any increased tariffs to consumers.