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The 2020 presidential election still hangs over these congressional, state and local races. Almost two-thirds of Democratic voters say they cast ballots to show opposition to Trump, while about 7 in 10 Republican voters say their votes were about defying Biden. Inflation has been a clear blow to the well-being of many Americans.
- Overview
- Who's responsible for inflation?
With nearly one-third of midterm election voters indicating inflation was their top campaign concern this year, attention now turns to what the new political alignment in Washington will mean for tackling the issue.
But with multiple key races still up for grabs Wednesday, it is too soon to say exactly how federal lawmakers will address the rampant price increases.
U.S. Senate races in Arizona, Georgia and Nevada remained undecided Wednesday afternoon — while the fate of the House, even with Republicans in the lead, was also still unknown.
If they gain full control of Congress, Republicans have pledged to roll back the Biden administration’s spending efforts, which opponents of President Joe Biden blame for inflation.
Republicans have also promoted their desire to increase oil and gas production and approve energy infrastructure projects, though the Biden administration has already taken steps to lower gasoline prices through increased oil production and, through the Inflation Reduction Act signed into law in August, has launched efforts to build out a nationwide electric-vehicle charging network, among other infrastructure projects already underway.
Democrats, meanwhile, have been largely content to put the responsibility for controlling inflation on the shoulders of the Federal Reserve, which has raised its key federal funds rate six times this year to a level not seen in more than a decade.
Inflation remains largely a consumer-driven phenomenon because it is propelled in large part by household spending. Many corporations have pulled in record profits as a result.
But so far, most consumers have been willing to withstand higher prices, thanks to a variety of factors, including pandemic savings, record-low unemployment and increasingly high credit card borrowing.
Wall Street analysts have laid out various scenarios depending on which party ultimately takes control of Congress, but have zeroed in on what the most likely outcome — a narrow Republican majority in the House and a Senate retained by Democrats — would mean for Washington's impact on the economy.
"In the event of recession, divided governments generally deliver only limited and late fiscal support," Morgan Stanley analysts wrote in a note to clients.
Much of the spending laid out in the Biden administration's Inflation Reduction Act has already been distributed, the analysts said, noting that, in any case, congressional legislation would be subject to a veto by Biden.
“Investors should treat the provisions of the IRA (i.e., clean energy subsidies, prescription drug measures) as likely to endure and current allocations to be distributed,” they wrote.
Nov 7, 2022 · Inflation will be a top issue on Election Day 2022 Rising prices are a top concern for voters in this year's midterm elections, outpacing abortion, crime and defending democracy. Prices in ...
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Nov 8, 2022 · Inflation has roared back onto the scene as a key issue ahead of the 2022 midterm elections, after five decades during which slow and steady price increases were a political nonissue.
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Nov 11, 2021 · A few weeks ago, I wrote a piece suggesting that inflation could be the dominant issue in 2022 – even though few people were talking about it. ... The sneaky biggest issue of the 2022 election ...
