Financially-Squeezed Voters Made Jaw-Dropping 60-Point Swing Toward Democrats Since 2024

Voters who said they were financially struggling made a 60-point swing toward Democrats between the 2024 presidential election and the midterms, a NORC/Washington Post survey found.

Sixty-four percent of voters who said they were economically “falling behind” voted for Democratic House candidates, while 33% voted for Republicans, according to a NORC/Washington Post survey. This bloc of voters supported Trump over former Vice President Kamala Harris by over 30 points in 2024, showing a dramatic shift in partisan support.

Twenty-nine percent of the 90,000 voters surveyed said they were struggling financially, 58% said they were “holding steady” and 12% said they were getting ahead, according to the survey. Of those holding steady, 52% supported Democrats and 45% supported Republicans. Fifty-nine percent of those getting ahead voted for Republicans.

One in five of independent voters supported Democrats by more than 20 points, a much larger margin than those who supported Harris over Trump, according to the poll. Nearly seven in ten independents supported Democratic Kansas Sen.-elect Adam Hamilton, while about two-thirds of independents supported Democratic Texas Sen.-elect James Talarico.

Trump made historic inroads with Latino voters and with young men who were unsatisfied with the economy in 2024. Voters within those demographics who were most concerned with the economy voted for Democrats in 2026.

Forty-five percent of Hispanics believed the economy was the most important issue facing the U.S., while 15% said immigration, according to the exit poll. Sixty-two percent of Hispanic voters said the cost of living was “crucial” to their vote, according to the exit poll. The vast majority, 70% and 57%, of those respondents voted for Democrats.

Prices of energy, gas, food and other goods surged since the start of Iran war. The average price of gas cost $3.94 per gallon as of Wednesday, up from $3.07 per gallon from the year prior, according to AAA. Diesel prices rose from $3.74 per gallon in November 2025 to $6.13 per gallon.

Voters disapproved of Trump’s handling of the economy and the Iran war, prompting them to vote for Democrats. Forty-four percent of respondents said their financial situation was worse than two years ago and 18% said they were better off, according to an NBC News poll from Nov. 3.

Young men voted for Democrats by a 17-point margin after backing Trump in 2024. A survey by Harvard Youth Poll found that 27% of young people believed they were financially worse off than their parents, while 25% believed they were better off.