Is the Appetite for Bipartisanship Waning?

Since our first survey in February, there has been a small decrease in the importance voters place on Congress working together to pass bipartisan legislation on the economy, health care, criminal justice, working families, immigration, energy, education, and infrastructure. Additionally, there was a slight decrease by 6% among all voters, 8% among Democrats, and 6% among Republicans in their preference to vote for a member of Congress who finds compromise. As we get closer to the midterm elections and partisan rancor ramps up, BPC will continue to monitor voters’ interest in electing officials who work together.

Inflation and Rising Costs

Not surprisingly, inflation is becoming a dominant issue in 2022 with voters looking for ways to reduce their household spending, especially low-income households. About two-thirds of voters say they have had to reduce their household spending over the past month due to an increase in gas prices (65%) and increase in the price of groceries (63%).

A majority (57%) say it has been difficult to pay their utility payments over the past six months. Nearly two in three (62%) homeowners say it has been difficult to pay for their mortgage, and nearly half (46%) of renters say it has been difficult to pay their monthly rent. When we asked a similar question in September, we found one-third of respondents (35%) said it has been somewhat or very difficult to pay utility bills over the past year.

According to the Consumer Price Index, prices rose 1.2% in March for an increase of 8.5% over the past 12 months—the highest year-over-year increase in more than 40 years. BPC’s Inflation Monitor has more data.

Misinformation

Although a bipartisan majority (69%) of voters are confident their vote will be counted accurately during the midterm elections, 83% of Republicans and 77% of Democrats are also concerned that misinformation will influence the election.

Republicans who identify closer to Donald Trump compared to the Republican party are more likely to not be confident their vote will be counted accurately (47%) and be concerned about misinformation influencing the 2022 midterms (88%).

Voters from both parties (78%) are concerned about misinformation influencing the 2022 midterms, but as noted concern is especially high among Republicans (83%).

Methodology

Morning Consult conducted this poll for BPC between April 15-17, 2022, among a sample of 2,004 registered voters. The interviews were conducted online and the data were weighted to approximate a target sample of registered voters based on gender by age, educational attainment, race, marital status, home ownership, race by educational attainment, 2020 presidential vote, and region. Results from the full survey have a margin of error of plus or minus 2 percentage points.