Chris Kahn

NEW YORK, (Reuters) – Americans are turning their back on the coronavirus, and focusing instead on rising consumer prices, which is a trend that is likely to favor Republicans next year in midterm elections.

COVID-19 still claims more than 1000 lives per day in the United States. However, the national opinion poll from Oct. 18-22 shows that the nation’s obsession with public health has diminished since the start of the year. From 20% in February, only 12% Americans considered public health concerns like the coronavirus a top priority for their country’s national priorities in October.

Meantime, two-thirds of the country, including majorities of Democrats, Republicans and independents, say that “inflation is a very big concern for me.”

Americans are closely monitoring the current pandemic-era jobs market. Businesses struggle to hire workers, while many people remain out of work. A Reuters/Ipsos poll found that 73% of Americans want politicians to pay more attention to economic growth and jobs.

This is an unprecedented shift in politics in just one-year. Joe Biden, his Democratic Party won control of Congress and the White House last year thanks to a campaign that focused on the pandemic as well as former President Donald Trump’s handling.

Democrats failed to match the recent surge in votes for conservative candidates, which led Republicans to win the Virginia governor’s seat this week. They also lost a competitive New Jersey race. It seems that the Democrats are no longer focused on what was once their top priority.

“Americans are ready to stop worrying about the coronavirus” after nearly two years, said Nicholas Valentino, a University of Michigan political scientist.

“When they look around they see other problems that need to be addressed,” Valentino said. There are job opportunities everywhere. They’re waiting in long lines at the grocery stores. They’re waiting for things to be delivered because the supply chain is slow.”

According to exit polls for the 2020 election, 61% of voters said COVID-19 was an “important factor” in their decision to vote for Trump. This result means that Biden won by 52% to 46%.

Biden was approved by 55% of the nation to take office. He is praised for his aggressive efforts in securing millions upon millions of coronavirus vaccinations and almost $2 trillion of financial relief from Congress.

Since then, Biden’s popularity has declined, even among those Democrats and independents who helped put him in office.

Public approval of Biden’s record on the economy, immigration, national unity, and even for his response to the coronavirus, has dropped almost every month since April, according to the poll.

Overall, approval of Biden’s performance in office is now hovering near its lowest levels of the year. The latest weekly survey https://graphics.reuters.com/USA-BIDEN/POLL/nmopagnqapa shows that 44% of U.S. adults approve of the president, which is down 11 percentage points since January, while 51% disapprove, up by 19 points in that same period.

“Those swing voters who were deeply concerned about Donald Trump’s failings a year ago are probably not delighted with how things are going now,” said Donald Green, an expert on voter turnout at Columbia University. “This is why many Democrats are on edge.”

Priorities for 2022

Reuters/Ipsos Polling October 2018 shows that the two parties aligned themselves around a number of principles which may drive up vote among their base supporters, as the coronavirus fades to the background.

Nearly nine in 10 Democrats favor tax hikes for the wealthy, 76% say that climate change should be the top concern for every country, while 78 percent say “it is too easy to access guns.”

95% support the core party principles of at least one Republican.

They also have a lower likelihood than Democrats or independents to support the government’s efforts to fight coronavirus. About 51% of Republicans are opposed to the use of protective masks at schools. 44%, however, support them. Comparatively, school mask mandates are opposed by only 8% of Democrats (and 30% of independents)

With the midterms a year away, neither side has much advantage in political engagement: 61% of Democrats and 63% of Republicans say they are “completely certain” to vote.

Reuters/Ipsos online polls can be conducted in English anywhere within the United States. Large-sample surveys are conducted online between Oct. 18-22. It gathered responses form 4,430 adults, including 1,591 Republicans, 2,001 Democrats, and 465 Independents. These results are credible intervals, which is a measurement of precision and accuracy, between 2 to 5 percentage points.