Most voters think economy will get worse next year: poll

Three-quarters of Americans report having financial difficulties due to inflation, while most voters think that the economy will be even worse in a year, according to a Fox News poll released Sunday. 

Frustration with Democrats in power as the economy is experiencing record inflation may result in a major win for the Republican party.

The poll found that 44% of voters said they would vote for a Republican compared to 41% who said they would vote for a Democrat if the mid-terms were held today. Fox News stated that a 3-point advantage will lead to the GOP gaining about 23 seats.

The Republican victory would be especially notable as this fall's mid-terms will be the first election with new maps drawn after the 2020 census. 

Despite the fact that at least six Democratic-leaning seats have been added without any additional GOP-leaning seats, according to FiveThirtyEight, Republicans are still favored to take back the House.

"A 20-plus seat gain would be massive for the Republicans in an era where bipartisan gerrymandering has drastically reduced the number of competitive seats," Republican pollster Daron Shaw told the outlet. "It would be tantamount to the 1994 mid-terms when Newt Gingrich’s Contract with America helped the GOP roll up a 54-seat gain."

The Consumer Price Index hit 9.1% in June, marking the largest yearly increase in more than 40 years.

Voters are pessimistic about the economy going forward, and while 42% of respondents said it would be "better" in a year, 52% predict that it will be "worse" at that time.

Inflation is now a major factor in many Americans' lives. More than half of all those polled (52%) said they changed their summer plans due to gas prices, while seven in ten said they had to cut back on spending in order to afford necessities. 

Most voters blame the White House for the economy, with 55% of those polled stating that the Biden administration has made things worse.

After June's inflation numbers were released last week, President Joe Biden defended his administration by stating: "While today’s headline inflation reading is unacceptably high, it is also out of date." He claimed that the data was skewed due to the cost of energy during the first half of the month.