Voters Doubt Either Party Has a Clear Plan as Economy Looms Over November Midterms

A CBS News poll released Sunday found that most voters doubt either party has a clear plan heading into the November midterm elections that will decide control of Congress. Fifty-seven percent said the Democratic Party lacks a clear vision for the future, and 56% said Republicans have no agreed-upon agenda if they keep control of Congress. The poll's margin of error is three percentage points. On gas prices, 50% of respondents said prices will rise if Republicans win, while 30% said the same of a Democratic win. Voters also expect to be financially worse off whichever party controls the next Congress, though Democrats fared slightly better on that measure. President Donald Trump has become a key differentiator in many races. He has toured traditionally Republican districts, largely to shore up low-propensity voters who typically turn out only when he is on the ballot with GOP candidates. The public also broadly blames his administration for stubbornly high inflation. Voters' feelings about the economy could decide who wins Congress.

The right-leaning Washington Examiner leads with the poll, framing its headline around voters' lack of confidence in both parties. It stresses percentages, the gas-price split, the margin of error, and Trump's campaign tour and his administration's link to inflation. NBC News, on the left, leads with the economy as a possible deciding factor. It features Hallie Jackson's trip to several key states to hear voters describe the economy in their own words. Its excerpt has no poll numbers and does not mention Trump. Both agree the economy is central to the midterms. They differ in sourcing: poll data and Trump's role on the right, voter interviews on the left. Alternative or independent outlets had not reported the story at the time of writing, while left- and right-leaning outlets had.