Voters are more concerned about inflation now than they were over the summer, even though most metrics for inflation have eased.
Inflation peaked at 9.1% in June 2022 and stood at 3.7% in September 2023. The inflation rate remains above the Fed’s 2% target. Still, it remains the top issue among voters and is certain to shape the 2024 presidential race.
“Inflation makes people miserable, and it’s a key weakness for [President Joe] Biden,” said David Byler, chief of research at Noble Predictive Insights. “But voters tend to judge presidents on short term economic trends. If the economy feels better to them by this time next year, that will help Biden hugely. But if people keep feeling the pain of high prices, he could be in real trouble.”