A new Monmouth University poll identifies the economy and abortion rights as the primary issues heading into the November midterm elections.
However, the survey does not indicate a decisive lean about whether the Republicans or Democrats should be controlling Congress in January.
According to the Monmouth poll, the economy (26%) and abortion rights (25%) collected 51% of the total vote, when determining each citizen's No. 1 concern for the upcoming election.
The other notable options, representing the American public's top-level worry:
- Healthcare: 16%
- Immigration: 14%
- Gun control: 9%
- Taxes: 8%
Regarding the Republicans vs. Democrats battle in the congressional chambers: "The public remains divided on whether they prefer to have the Republicans (36%) or the Democrats (34%) in control of Congress," according to the Monmouth release.
"Pushing for 'leaners' among those who initially say party control does not matter adds 12 percentage points to the GOP column and 10 percentage points for the Democrats. The combined 48% Republican and 44% Democrat split represents statistically insignificant shifts since March (45% Republican and 46% Democrat) and January (50% Republican and 43% Democrat)."
"Congressional party preference hasn't moved a lot this year, but the issue picture may be coming into focus with the economy and abortion as the top considerations right now," said Patrick Murray, director of the independent Monmouth University Polling Institute, in a release promoting the survey results.
The Monmouth poll (conducted May 5-9, 807 adults surveyed) followed a Politico report that published an initial majority draft opinion from Justice Samuel Alito, suggesting the Supreme Court might be on the brink of striking down the landmark Roe v. Wade ruling from 1973, which made abortion legal in the United States.
As such, the Monmouth survey revealed that 48% of Democrat respondents characterized a candidate's position on abortion as "extremely important" to their vote — up from 31% in a similar Monmouth poll from 2018.
For Republican respondents, abortion carried only a 29% rating, when touted as an "extremely important" issue.
For GOP voters, the priorities generally lie with the economy, taxes, and curbing the immigration chaos as the United States-Mexico border.
Regarding the White House, President Joe Biden received a job-approval rating of 38% in the Monmouth poll, with 57% disapproving of the president's work to date.
Of those surveyed, only 18% of Americans believe the country is headed in the right direction, down from 24% two months ago.
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