Affordability voters favor Democrats over Republicans for 2026 House midterms

Voters who say the economy or inflation are their #1 issue are D+12 in the generic ballot, and give Trump a net job approval rating of -20

President Trump spent Tuesday night, Dec. 9, in a Pennsylvania casino ballroom launching what the White House billed as an “affordability tour.” But instead of a president finally leveling with voters about prices and wages, the audience got something closer to a greatest hits album. Trump’s speech was filled with digressions about immigrants from “shithole countries,” praise for his own tariffs, and riffs about Americans buying too many pencils and dolls. At one point, Trump openly mocked “affordability” as the latest Democratic “hoax,” then partly walked it back and insisted that prices are already “coming down tremendously” under his watch.

Then, on Thursday, Dec. 11, the Senate rejected both a Democratic bill to extend Affordable Care Act subsidies and a Republican alternative built around health savings accounts, effectively guaranteeing that enhanced ACA tax credits (passed under Biden) will expire at the end of the year. That decision sets millions of people up for steep premium…