Surveys that query respondents about their political affiliation have generally shown that consumer confidence among Republicans has soared since the U.S. elections in November 2016, whereas Democrats have lagged.
When the data are broken down by which way a county voted, however, it’s the Democratic areas that have seen the bigger increase in confidence, according to a study published by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York on Friday.
That’s because although initially Republican counties logged bigger gains following the election, which gave conservatives unexpected victories, they’ve since become relatively more pessimistic over the last few months, whereas confidence in Democratic counties has held up.
Gallup Confidence
Americans' confidence in the economy remains strong heading into the final weeks of the holiday shopping season.
Gallup's U.S. Economic Confidence Index registered +7 last week, similar to the previous week's score of +9 and close to this year's average of +6.
Americans' low expectations for how the GOP's tax bill will affect the economy has not dampened confidence much, if at all.
For his part, President Trump touted the economy and market in a tweet as he seeks a sweeping tax-reform plan.
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