What’s connecting with voters right now?
As Republicans seek to maintain their congressional majorities in November, it’s hard to keep up with the headlines: conflict with Iran, fierce debate in Congress, and an economy increasingly dominated by tech and artificial intelligence.
These polls indicate voters’ concerns in a hectic news environment.
It’s Iran, Stupid?
Bill Clinton’s winning 1992 presidential campaign once singled out “the economy, stupid,” as a winning issue.
Since then, it has become conventional wisdom that pocketbook issues win elections more than anything else in American politics.
But as the midterm elections approach, the ongoing military campaign against Iran could be competing with the economy as the top issue for voters.
A recent poll from Scott Rasmussen’s Napolitan News Service asked voters for their “most important political issue right now.”
A combined 29% of voters replied that either foreign policy (15%) or Iran (14%) was the most important issue.
Combined, this exceeds the 24% who considered the economy the most important issue.
Data Centers—Good for Economy, Bad for Quality of Life?
Across the country, tech companies are developing massive data centers to house the physical infrastructure that supports artificial intelligence.
Although Americans appear to believe these centers are good for the economy, there is a consistent trend of Americans suspecting they have negative effects on the quality of life.
According to January polling from Pew Research Center, “more [Americans] say data centers are mostly bad than good for the environment (39% vs. 4%), home energy costs (38% vs. 6%) and the quality of life for those nearby (30% vs. 6%).”
However, a mere 15% of respondents said the centers are “mostly bad” for local jobs, compared to 25% who said they are “mostly good.”
Similarly, when it comes to local tax revenue, 12% said the centers would be mostly bad, and 23% said they would be mostly good.
During his State of the Union address in February, President Donald Trump announced he was working with tech companies to ensure Americans’ electricity bills would not rise due to the construction of data centers.
Multiple tech companies have since signed on to a pledge to cover their own power costs.
SAVE America Act
One of the biggest fights on Capitol Hill right now is over the SAVE America Act—legislation which would require photo identification and proof of citizenship in federal elections.
But few people know what the bill is when they hear the name.
According to polling from the Napolitan News Service conducted from March 9-10, a mere 23% of respondents know what the bill is.
However, the individual components of the bill are popular among respondents, according to a Harvard/Harris poll conducted in February.
According to this polling, 75% of Americans support the bill’s proof of citizenship requirement, 81% support voter ID, and 80% support removing non-citizens from voter rolls.
The polling also indicates 58% of voters believe there is at least some voter fraud in U.S. elections.
