Voters on inflation, presidential debate: Full poll
- 54% say Trump did better in the debate than Biden
- Nearly 1 in 3 voters say cost of groceries is the hardest financial burden
- 43% say they are worse off financially than they were last year
(NewsNation) — Less than four months before the 2024 election, American voters continue to feel the pinch of high costs, with about 45% of those surveyed saying inflation was the top problem in the U.S., according to the results of the latest NewsNation/Decision Desk HQ poll.
The survey of 1,000 registered voters was conducted between June 30 and July 1 via an online panel. Margins of error vary per question because the number of people who answered each question is different (learn more about why margins of error matter here).
See the full results of the poll below:
Question 1: Do you approve or disapprove of the way Joe Biden is handling his job as president? (Margin of error 3%)
- Strongly approve: 17.72%
- Somewhat approve: 25.60%
- Somewhat disapprove: 18.11%
- Strongly disapprove: 38.57%
Question 2: Which do you think is a bigger problem facing the United States today: Inflation, unemployment, crime, immigration, or threats to democracy? (Margin of error 3.1%)
- Inflation: 44.94%
- Unemployment: 4.56%
- Immigration: 21.40%
- Crime: 7.20%
- Threats to democracy: 21.90%
Question 3: Who among the following would you say is best suited to help Donald Trump win the presidential general election in November? (Margin of error 2.9%)
- South Carolina Senator Tim Scott: 9.04%
- Florida Senator Marco Rubio: 12.22%
- Former North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum: 3.02%
- Ohio Senator J.D. Vance: 4.62%
- Florida Rep. Byron Donalds: 2.85%
- South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem: 2.52%
- Neurosurgeon Ben Carson: 3.97%
- Former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley: 16.11%
- Entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy: 8.27%
- A member of Donald Trump’s family: 6.52%
- Someone else: 30.86%
Question 4: Who among the following would you say is best suited to defeat Donald Trump in the presidential general election in November? (Margin of error 2.9%)
- President Joe Biden: 27.66%
- Vice President Kamala Harris: 8.97%
- California Governor Gavin Newsom: 9.26%
- New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez: 2.47%
- Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer: 4.84%
- Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker: 1.76%
- Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders: 6.39%
- Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg: 3.72%
- Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton: 4.23%
- Someone else: 30.70%
Question 5: Among the following, who would you trust more to drive your kids to school? (Margin of error 3.1%)
- Donald Trump: 29.75%
- Joe Biden: 21.26%
- Both equally: 1.73%
- Neither Donald Trump or Joe Biden: 43.59%
- Not sure: 3.66%
Question 6: Regardless of whom you plan to vote for in November, who do you think performed the best in the presidential debate? (Margin of error 3.1%)
- Joe Biden: 17.51%
- Donald Trump: 54.39%
- It was a tie: 13.22%
- Not sure: 14.88%
Question 7: Do you agree or disagree with the following statement: the moderator of the recent presidential debate between Biden and Trump treated both candidates fairly? (Margin of error 3%)
- Strongly agree: 32.42%
- Somewhat agree: 38.49%
- Somewhat disagree: 11.66%
- Strongly disagree: 4.95%
- Not sure: 12.48%
Question 8: Which of the following is most important for the citizens of the United States to uphold? (Margin of error 3%)
- Traditional family structures: 17.02%
- Supporting marginalized communities: 3.83%
- Ensuring religious freedom: 6.36%
- Providing equal opportunities to all: 39.36%
- Fostering American patriotism: 8.39%
- Solving the climate crisis: 10.25%
- Something else: 9.70%
- Not sure: 5.08%
Question 9: How concerned would you be about Joe Biden’s cognitive health affecting his ability to serve another term as President effectively? (Margin of error 3.1%)
- Very concerned: 54.52%
- Somewhat concerned: 25.18%
- Not too concerned: 12.95%
- Not at all concerned: 7.35%
Question 10: How concerned would you be about Donald Trump’s cognitive health affecting his ability to serve another term as President effectively? (Margin of error 2.9%)
- Very concerned: 34.16%
- Somewhat concerned: 21.91%
- Not too concerned: 21.58%
- Not at all concerned: 22.35%
Question 11: How much would you say inflation has affected your plans for the 4th of July? (Margin of error 2.7%)
- A great deal: 21.74%
- A fair amount: 26.76%
- Not very much: 25.14%
- Not at all: 26.37%
Question 12: Thinking about other things, which of the following would you say is the biggest financial hardship facing you or your family today? (Margin of error: 2.8%)
- Unemployment: 6.10%
- Lack of savings: 11.00%
- Credit card debt: 7.57%
- Taxes: 11.22%
- Housing costs: 11.44%
- Cost of groceries: 29.16%
- Healthcare costs: 6.49%
- Not having enough money for retirement: 7.39%
- Something else: 3.71%
- Not sure: 5.91%
Question 13: Which of the following, if at all, would you say you have or are sacrificing in order to pay for everyday essentials, like groceries or housing? (Margin of error 2.7%)
- Personal savings: 25.67%
- Retirement savings: 10.20%
- Paying off debt: 14.02%
- Travel: 9.67%
- Restaurants/ eating out: 15.07%
- Entertainment/ leisure: 8.31%
- Something else: 5.50%
- Not sure: 11.57%
Question 14: How many times over the past month have you used a food delivery service, such as DoorDash or Grubhub? (Margin of error 3%)
- More than 5 times: 5.85%
- 3-5 times: 9.93%
- Once or twice: 21.43%
- Not at all: 62.80%
Question 15: Which of the following would you say is the biggest threat to democracy in the US? (Margin of error 2.7%)
- Bypassing Congress to implement policies: 7.10%
- Voter suppression: 7.13%
- Threatening retribution against political opponents: 8.74%
- Refusing to answer questions from the press: 1.44%
- The undermining of public trust in elections and institutions: 15.59%
- Inadequate security at the US border: 21.36%
- The threat of physical violence against political figures and their families: 5.37%
- Misinformation: 26.18%
- Something else: 3.40%
- Not sure: 3.70%
Question 16: Overall, would you say you are better or worse off financially than you were about a year ago? (Margin of error 3.1%)
- Better off: 22.69%
- Worse off: 43.30%
- Neither better nor worse off: 34.01%
Question 17: Thinking about other topics, if the election for the U.S. Congress in your district was held today, which of the following candidates would you most likely vote for? (Margin of error 3.1%)
- The Republican candidate: 43.98%
- The Democratic candidate: 43.63%
- A third party candidate: 7.31%
- Would not vote: 5.09%
Question 18: What is the highest degree or level of school you have completed? If you’re currently enrolled in school, please indicate the highest degree you have received. (Margin of error 2.9%)
- Post-graduate degree: 18.37%
- Bachelor’s degree: 31.53%
- Some college or associate’s degree: 30.19%
- High school diploma or less: 19.92%
Question 19: Which of the following would you say most accurately describes your political ideology? (Margin of error 3%)
- Very Conservative: 15.34%
- Somewhat conservative: 20.62%
- Moderate: 39.41%
- Somewhat liberal: 15.98%
- Very liberal: 8.65%
Question 20: Which political party do you most closely identify with? (Margin of error 3%)
- Republican party: 37.55%
- Democratic party: 34.54%
- Independent: 26.10%
- Another party: 1.81%