Historically, the party in power in the White House loses seats in Congress, but there are a few unique things in play this midterm election cycle that could work in favor of President Donald Trump and his Republican Party.
Mid-cycle redistricting in several red states has boosted Republicans’ chances to gain seats and keep the House. And now, a new poll shows that the GOP has an advantage over Democrats on some key issues of importance to voters.
A recent national survey conducted by the Tyson Group found strong public support for policies designed to reduce energy and grocery costs, highlighting several issues Republicans believe could resonate with voters ahead of the November elections.
The poll found that many Americans remain focused on everyday economic concerns, including rising household expenses and access to affordable energy. Republicans have pointed to those findings as evidence that economic issues, healthcare access for seniors, preparedness for the upcoming flu season and the regulation of artificial intelligence could become key campaign themes in the final months before the midterms, the Washington Examiner first reported.
“President Trump and Congress have a playbook in front of them,” the polling memo states.
“Deliver on what voters actually care about before they head to the polls and the midterm math gets a lot more favorable,” the memo added.
Energy policy ranked highest among six issues tested in a recent survey, with 88% of likely general election voters saying it was important to expand U.S. energy infrastructure to help reduce gasoline and electricity costs.
The poll also found that nearly 82% of respondents viewed ensuring that flu vaccines remain available, accessible and affordable as a priority, said the outlet.
Healthcare-related concerns drew strong support across party lines.
According to the survey, 87% of voters said it was important for federal health agencies to prepare for flu season in advance, while 78% supported efforts to accelerate the approval of updated vaccines for influenza and other respiratory illnesses, the Examiner noted, citing the survey.
The findings were released during the same week Trump signed an executive order that would reshape federal childhood vaccine recommendations.
Among the changes is a shift in guidance on flu vaccinations for children, moving away from a universal recommendation and toward a model that emphasizes shared decision-making between families and healthcare providers, said the outlet.
Support for accelerating the approval of updated flu vaccines remained strong across political affiliations.
More than 85% of Republicans backed the policy, while 94% of Democrats and 86% of independent voters said federal health agencies should be prepared before the start of flu season, said the survey.
Similar trends emerged in separate swing-state surveys cited by the Tyson Group.
Support for approving updated flu vaccines before the start of the season reached 80% in Texas, 77% in New Hampshire, 76% in Ohio, 71% in both Michigan and Florida, and 70% in Maine, the survey said.
Artificial intelligence also emerged as a potential area of bipartisan agreement.
Nearly 73% of voters said it was important for the United States to establish global standards for regulating AI while competing with China in the rapidly developing technology sector.
Previous Tyson Group polling cited in the report found that 72% of Americans supported government oversight of artificial intelligence, while 63% expressed concern that geopolitical rivals such as China were advancing the technology more quickly than the United States, the Examiner noted.
Economic concerns also remained a dominant issue.
The survey found that 71% of respondents supported creating a single national standard for food ingredient labeling instead of maintaining different requirements across individual states, the survey said.
Seniors represented another area of broad agreement in the survey.
About 66% of respondents said maintaining access to knee and hip replacement procedures was important as policymakers continue to debate potential Medicare reimbursement reductions for healthcare providers, said the survey.
According to the Tyson Group, the issue could carry added political significance because older Americans traditionally vote at higher rates than other demographic groups and often play an outsized role in determining election outcomes, it added.
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