NRCC poll: 70 percent of voters say they are concerned about inflation

A new internal poll from the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) shows growing concerns about rising inflation in a number of battleground districts ahead of 2022. 

Seventy percent of respondents said they were either “extremely or very concerned” about rising prices and the rising costs of living, according to the polling memo released Thursday. Additionally, 60 percent of voters said they disapproved of President Biden’s handling of rising prices and the higher cost of living. On top of that, the poll found that 42 percent of people polled were more likely to blame Biden and congressional Democrats for rising prices. Ten percent said they were more likely to blame congressional Republicans. 

Republican lawmakers and candidates have increasingly tied Biden and Democrats to inflation, arguing it’s the result of increased government spending due to initiatives like the American Rescue Plan. 

However, Biden and Democrats have brushed off the attacks, arguing that inflation coming out of the pandemic’s economic downturn would only be temporary. 

“The vast majority of the experts, including Wall Street, are suggesting that it’s highly unlikely that it’s going to be long-term inflation that’s going to get out of hand,” Biden said Wednesday at a CNN town hall in Cincinnati. “There will be near-term inflation because everything is now trying to be picked back up.” 

Democrats argue that the passage of the American Rescue Plan has kick-started the economy, and have attacked congressional Republicans for voting against the plan. 

“Thanks to House Democrats passing the American Rescue Plan, we are crushing COVID-19, kickstarting the economy, and providing game-changing relief to working families with the Child Tax Credit,” Chris Taylor, spokesperson for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, said in a statement. 

Republicans are looking to take back the majority in the House next year, needing only five seats to take back control. In addition to economic issues, the GOP has also zeroed in on the issues of crime and border security ahead of the elections. 

The same internal NRCC polling memo showed 45 percent of voters in battleground districts trusting Republicans more to deal with crime, while 42 said the same about Democrats. On border security, 49 percent said they thought Republicans were better able to deal with the issue, while 39 percent said the same about Democrats. 

The survey was conducted July 8-15 among 1,000 voters across 85 battleground districts.