Voters are not thinking about consumer confidence at the polls, says pollster

Pollster Patrick Murphy said on Thursday voters do not care about the consumer confidence index or other such indicators when they go to the polls. 

“The consumer confidence measure, there are things that they call consumer confidence are up,” Murphy, director of the Monmouth University Poll, told Hill.TV’s Joe Concha. 

“But when you look at how they’re measured, they’re measured on just simply is it a good time to buy things and these kinds of questions, and they’re not the things that voters are thinking about in their vote choice,” he continued. 

President Trump has frequently touted the indicator as a sign of economic growth under his administration. 

“Consumer confidence hits an 18 year high, close to breaking the all-time record. A big jump from last 8 years. People are excited about the USA again! We are getting Bigger and Richer and Stronger. WAY MORE TO GO!” Trump said in a tweet on Wednesday. 

Consumer confidence hits an 18 year high, close to breaking the all-time record. A big jump from last 8 years. People are excited about the USA again! We are getting Bigger and Richer and Stronger. WAY MORE TO GO!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 26, 2018

The Conference Board’s consumer confidence index on Tuesday showed that consumer confidence increased to 138.4 during September. 

Despite the high confidence, not all Americans say they are benefitting from economic growth. 

A recent survey conducted by Democracy Corps for Women’s Voices Women Vote Action Fund, which was featured on Hill.TV, found that 70 percent of African-Americans, 50 percent of Hispanics, and 56 percent of white working-class women said they did not feel that economic growth was helping them. 

Sixty-two percent of millennials and 66 percent of unmarried women also said they agreed that the economy was not strong for them. 

— Julia Manchester