Trump Holds Strong In Swing State Polling As Voters Skeptical Of Biden Economy

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Former President Donald Trump is leading President Joe Biden in six out of seven key swing states as Americans believe the economy is going in the wrong direction, according to a new Bloomberg News/Morning Consult poll.

The poll of nearly 5,000 registered voters found that Trump leads Biden in key states like Arizona (49-42), Georgia (49-43), Nevada (51-43), North Carolina (51-41), Pennsylvania (47-46), and Wisconsin (48-44), while Biden tops Trump in Michigan (47-45). The majority of those polled had a negative view of the economy’s direction, with many believing it would only get worse.

According to the poll, 70% of those surveyed believed the economy was going in the wrong direction, while 30% said it was going the right way. When asked how important the economy would be in determining who they pick for president, 82% said it would be “very important,” while 14% said it would be “somewhat important.”

Americans also believe that inflation is worsening, with 54% saying they expected it to intensify by the end of the year and 17% saying they believed it would improve. Inflation has remained high during the Biden presidency, with customers paying elevated prices for staples like food and gas. A political action committee backing Trump launched a “Biden-mart” website last month highlighting the dramatic increase in food prices.

“Some of the shine of the State of the Union address has worn off,” Matt Monday, senior manager of Morning Consult, said. “People are really tying ‘Bidenomics’ and their perception of the economy to the inflation rate.”

More than half of voters surveyed (51%) said they trusted Trump more with the economy than Biden (36%), while 13% said neither. 46% of voters also said they trusted Trump more on the issue of good jobs than Biden (38%). 

By far, the economy ranked as the number one issue for voters polled, with 34% saying it would be their top issue in the presidential election. The only other top issue that polled in the double digits was immigration at 15%, while abortion, a top issue for the Biden campaign, came in at 9%.

Neither Biden nor Trump had a majority of voters who viewed them favorably. While 56% said they had an unfavorable or somewhat unfavorable view of Biden, just 41% said they had a favorable or somewhat favorable view of the president. Trump was viewed unfavorably or somewhat unfavorably by 41% of voters, while 45% had a favorable or very favorable view of him.

Other issues voters found important included immigration (86%), crime (91%), education and schools (87%), and senior services (89%).