If Democrats take power in Congress, Republican voters fear moving too far to the left and adopting socialist policies. While Republicans maintain control, Democrats worry that President Donald Trump has unchecked power.
These are the results of a new CNBC poll that shows what each political camp fears from the other as the midterm elections approach. Republicans surveyed also say they are concerned about weakened border security and rising taxes under a Democratic Congress. Democrats say they are concerned about continued Immigration and Customs Enforcement deportations and ongoing military efforts in Iran under Republican rule.
“It perfectly shows the polarization … and the fear that one side will completely override the other’s agenda,” Ron Bonjean, a Republican strategist and co-founder of ROKK Solutions, said of the results. “What Republicans are worried about is Democrats going back to what was happening under the Biden administration.”
The results of the latest CNBC All-America economic survey — conducted between Oct. 14 and 18 and including 1,000 registered voters — could serve as a warning to both parties after the election. Both Democrats and Republicans have faced low popularity amid widespread distrust of government.
If Democrats lean too far left and adopt the policies of the Democratic Socialists of America, they could squander the gains that some forecasts project they could make in many heavily Republican parts of the country, said Lucas Holtz, senior policy adviser at Third Way, a center-left think tank.
“They should not misinterpret their mandate if they hope to maintain the gains that they made this cycle with Latino voters, with working class voters, that they bled cycle after cycle,” Holtz said.
And Republicans need to understand that voters right now want to change course, Bonjean said.
“Voters definitely want a change from the way things are now, but they also don’t want to go back to the way things were when Democrats ran Washington,” Bonjean said. “The branding is so bad on the Democratic side, and it’s not great on the Republican side.”
Respondents were able to select up to two of their biggest concerns in the event Democrats or Republicans control Congress, which does not necessarily indicate their top electoral priorities. The CNBC survey by Hart Research Associates and Public Opinion Strategies separately asked people to name the most important issues facing the country. In answering this question, affordability issues loom large across the political spectrum, while Democrats and independents also cited government corruption as a top priority, and Republicans cited immigration and border security.
Still, concerns expressed by voters about what the opposing party might do in office reflect messages from the political advertising that blankets much of the country in the final days before the midterm elections, according to Alex Jacquez, senior vice president of policy, advocacy and research at Groundwork Collaborative, a progressive think tank. Democrats on the campaign trail have criticized Trump for his alleged corruption and Republicans have tried to portray Democrats as too progressive.
“For Democrats, the main attack ads (targeting them) were … about DSA and the cultural issues that Republicans are trying to fix to tie them to some sort of far-left or radical movement,” Jacquez said. “But the overall mood of the election remains all about economics. People tend to blame the president for prices and Congress for enabling him.”
If Democrats take control of Congress, 22% of all voters say they are concerned about their inability to lower prices, including 31% of Democrats, 22% of independents and 15% of Republicans. In the event the Republican Party retains the gavel in the House and Senate, 24% of voters said they were concerned about lower prices, including 32% of Republicans, 22% of independents and 17% of Democrats.
But those concerns come on top of fears about Trump’s control and policies associated with the DSA, a political organization that has recently scored victories in cities like New York, Washington and Denver and advocates progressive populist social and economic policies.
Among all voters surveyed, 44% said they were concerned that Trump would be allowed to act beyond his constitutional authority, including 74% of Democrats and 45% of independents. Twenty-eight percent of respondents said they were concerned about the implementation of DSA policies, including 54% of Republicans and 22% of independents.
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