Sen. Jon Husted, R-Ohio, told Newsmax's "Wake Up America" that new polling favors Republicans because voters believe GOP policies are bringing costs down for working families.
Husted argued that lowering everyday expenses starts with tax relief, energy affordability, and reforms that put consumers — not bureaucracies — back in control.
"Because we're better than the Democrats. There's no doubt about that," Husted said Tuesday morning when asked why Republicans are polling better than Democrats on the economy in a new Impact Research-Wall Street Journal poll.
"We have focused on working families and doing more made in America," he said.
Husted pointed to tax changes that he said would lead to larger paychecks for workers, including "no tax on tips" and "no tax on overtime," along with "cutting taxes on Social Security."
He then contrasted a proposed "$2,200 per child tax credit" with what he called "a $3,500 tax increase for the average family of four in Ohio," adding that those households "will see more than a $5,000 tax cut."
"That's more money in their pockets to buy the things that they need to live and thrive," Husted said.
Americans are also seeing "gas prices at the lowest levels we've seen in years," he said, and that energy affects "what costs in everything in their lives."
"Our policies are working for working families," Husted said. "And that's why the American people support them."
Turning to healthcare, Husted called it "the number one driver of inflation in the 21st century," blaming Obamacare for "fewer choices and higher expenses" and for encouraging "monopoly status for insurance companies and hospital systems."
"Instead of sending money to insurance companies, let's send it to individuals so that they can either pay for their premiums or for their deductibles," Husted said, urging "patient-centered" changes and more price "transparency" so families can "buy cheaper services rather than paying for inflated prices."
He added that "President Trump has already done" the work of "lowering the cost for prescription drugs," and said Republicans should press reforms that let patients shop.
Husted closed by discussing the Upward Mobility Act, saying that affordability also means fixing what he called "our poverty system."
"If you're a mom trying to raise two kids, you have a 20-hour-a-week job, you make $17 an hour, but if you make $18 an hour, you might lose thousands of dollars in benefits," he said. "So, what happens? People don't go to work."
"People in poverty in this country won't take hours, won't take raises, because our poverty system traps them," Husted said.
The Ohio Republican said he wants to "end that by giving money to the states and then gradually reducing people's benefits as they work more hours so that work pays."
"It is the single most important issue that we can address — to raise the affordability question, to solve the affordability question for America's lowest earners," he said.
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Nicole Weatherholtz ✉
Nicole Weatherholtz, a Newsmax general assignment reporter covers news, politics, and culture. She is a National Newspaper Association award-winning journalist.
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