WASHINGTON (AP) — Regardless of the outcome of the Nov. 3 election, a new AP-NORC poll shows voters from both major political parties want the next Congress to focus on making life more affordable and ending the war in Iran, while fewer are looking for an emphasis on President Donald Trump — whether it's investigating him or supporting his agenda.
The results suggest that voters are ready for Congress to tackle core issues, despite Trump’s centrality
in the midterm campaign.
About 8 in 10 registered voters, including a large majority of Republicans and Democrats, say lowering the cost of living should be one of the highest priorities for the session coming up, the survey from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research finds.
Justin Campbell, a 31-year-old Democrat from Brookhaven, Mississippi, said he wants the government to focus on helping people like him rather than wealthy people.
“I’m not a millionaire and probably won’t ever be," he said. "I prefer policy that helps me instead of someone I’ll never be.”
Most voters also want Congress to prioritize ending the war with Iran, with roughly 7 in 10 saying this should be a top focus. Substantially fewer voters, about 4 in 10, want Congress to make investigating the Trump administration a high priority, and only about 2 in 10 want Congress to prioritize supporting the Republican president's agenda.
But the poll also indicates that there are deep divisions within the parties on what to focus on, with moderate Democrats and Republicans differing sharply from voters on the left and right wings of their parties.
Most Democratic voters who identify as supporters of democratic socialism are hoping for a Congress that will investigate the administration, and many want to end military aid to Israel, while MAGA Republicans are interested in Congress supporting Trump’s agenda.
Moderates in both parties, are much likelier to want Democrats and Republicans to find common ground.
Lowering the cost of living and ending the Iran war overshadow a wide range of other issues as voters consider priorities for the next Congress.
While most registered voters say reducing costs and ending the war should be among the highest priorities for Congress, only about half say reducing the budget deficit and finding common ground between the two parties should be high priorities. About 4 in 10 want investigating the administration and passing new laws regulating artificial intelligence to be high priorities.
Fewer, about 3 in 10, prioritize ending military aid to Israel, and only about 2 in 10 want a focus on supporting Trump's agenda.
Though most registered Democrats want Congress to investigate the administration, that falls behind the larger priorities of lowering costs and ending the conflict with Iran. About 6 in 10 registered voters who identify as Democrats call investigations into the administration “one of the highest priorities.”
Arthur Brown, a 71-year-old Democrat in Magee, Mississippi, wants to see the next Congress work on making the economy stronger and prices lower. He feels less urgently about holding Trump accountable, mostly because there’ll be only two years left in Trump’s term. He thinks it’s more important to try to turn the economy around.
“They should just focus on, you know, trying to tackle these problems,” he said. “Eventually down the road, justice will come.”
For Republican voters, bolstering Trump's goals also falls behind lowering the cost of living, ending the war in Iran and reducing the budget deficit.
In a strikingly tepid show of support for the president, only about 4 in 10 Republican voters say the next Congress should make supporting the administration's agenda one of its highest priorities.
House Democrats have begun planning an ambitious 100-day agenda for what they would do if they win control of Congress in November. House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries of New York has said the party's top priorities include making life more affordable and conducting vast oversight of the administration.
But there are potential schisms in the party awaiting Democrats if they win a governing majority. The Democratic Party has reckoned in primary campaigns with a growing wing of democratic socialists. Their progressive stances on some issues have divided the party — including on whether to continue military aid to Israel, whether to compromise with Republicans and how strongly to investigate the administration.
About three-quarters of Democratic voters who identify as supporters of democratic socialism say one of the top priorities should be investigating the administration, compared with slightly less than half of Democrats who say they're not democratic socialists.
Democratic socialists are also more likely to want Congress to end military aid to Israel and less likely to say it’s a top priority to find common ground between the two parties.
Campbell, the Democrat in Mississippi, identifies as a democratic socialist and wants Congress to hold the administration accountable.
“It feels a little cliche to just say roll back the past two years, but honestly, mostly just roll back the stuff he’s done the past two years," Campbell said.
Republicans are broadly aligned on what they want the next Congress to do, regardless of whether they identify with the “Make America Great Again” movement — except when it comes to Trump.
At least half of MAGA and non-MAGA Republicans want leaders to lower costs, end the Iran war and reduce the federal budget deficit.
Richard Longo, a 74-year-old Republican in Lake Forest, California, wants to see the president’s agenda pursued in the next Congress but is especially worried about balancing the budget.
“You’re not going to balance the budget in one year, but you have to have a plan," Longo said.
But while about 6 in 10 MAGA Republicans want Congress to prioritize supporting the administration's agenda, only about 2 in 10 Republicans who are not supporters of MAGA say the same.
Lisa Ostlund, a 46-year-old from Wayland, Massachusetts, who identifies as a MAGA supporter, wants to see the next Congress prioritize Trump's agenda. She doesn't support everything Trump does, but she credits his policies with her recent ability to find housing after struggling with homelessness for several years.
“You got to care about your American people," Ostlund said. "He definitely doesn’t say it right, but you do have to put them first.”
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The AP-NORC poll of 1,119 adults was conducted Oct. 8-12 using a sample drawn from NORC’s probability-based AmeriSpeak Panel, which is designed to be representative of the U.S. population. The margin of sampling error for adults overall is plus or minus 3.9 percentage points.
