AP-NORC poll: Dems and GOP have different priorities for 2023

WASHINGTON (AP) — Eva Guzman’s expenses have swelled, but she feels comfortable financially thanks to the savings she and her late husband stockpiled for a rainy day. The retired librarian clerk in San Antonio, 80, limits her grocery shopping trips, adjusts the thermostat to cut utility costs, and tries hard to get her grandchildren and great grandchildren what they need.

Guzman stated that it was hard to raise four children but that she and her husband were able manage. Guzman isn’t sure how young families manage to stay financially afloat in today’s world of high-priced groceries and clothing.

“It’s really gotten worse in this age for a lot of people,” said Guzman, who identifies as a conservative and blames President Joe Biden for inflation and economic instability. “It’s really getting out of hand.”

According to a December poll by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research, 30% of Americans consider inflation a top priority for their country. That’s roughly twice the percentage It was the same as one year ago down from 40% in JuneWith inflation easing somewhat despite remaining high.

Overall, the economy remains a bipartisan issue and is mentioned by most Americans across all political lines. However, the poll found that Republicans and Democrats have starkly different views on the priorities of the country for the coming year. More Republicans than Democrats name inflation, gas and food prices, energy and immigration, while Democrats focus on health care, climate change, poverty, racism, abortion and women’s rights.

Elizabeth Stephens is 41 years old and a Democratic-leaning independent from Houston. She recognizes that inflation can be a problem at the moment. She believes there are other issues that the government should address.

“Inflation comes and goes,” said Stephens, a manager working in learning and development. But issues such as poverty and health care disparities, she said, “are always there.”

“Even if the economy is great, there are still people who are suffering,” Stephens added.

Members of both parties are skeptical that there will be any progress on the issues most important to the public. Many people cite political divisions and hostilities as part of the problem in the poll results and interviews with the AP.

Stephens said the country is so divided that “it seems close to impossible” to imagine there would be progress this year.

Glenn Murray, a 59-year-old in Little Mountain, South Carolina, also called out the distance between the left and the right, wishing that politicians would recognize the “truth in the middle.” But his priorities are different from Stephens’.

Murray, a moderate Republican thinks that inflation and the economy will be critical issues. He also worries about the possibility of a recession in the U.S. But he is also concerned about energy policy, suggesting the nation’s reliance on foreign oil is driving up gas prices, and he describes the surge of migrants at the U.S.-Mexico border as “unsustainable.”

“I definitely understand that immigration is what helped build this country … but you have to have guardrails,” said Murray, who works for a university’s audit services. “You just can’t open the gates and let everyone in that wants to come in.”

Named by 45% of Republicans, immigration is one of the GOP’s leading priorities. The Supreme Court recently extended Trump-era pandemic restrictions Asylum seekers: thousands of migrants Many people gathered along the border to seek entry to the United States.

About 2 out 10 Republicans also mention crime, foreign policy issues and energy. Republicans are more likely than Democrats, at 37% vs. 26% and 22% vs. 7.7%, to name inflation.

Among Democrats, about 4 in 10 rank climate change and health care, 3 in 10 prioritize gun issues and roughly one-quarter name education and abortion or women’s rights. About 2 out 10 Democrats mention racism and poverty.

For 24-year-old Osbaldo Cruz, the country’s minimum wage is insufficient, especially to keep up with high inflation. The Democrat works as an assistant manager in a fast-food restaurant. He also prioritizes gun policy and climate change, both issues that are close to his Las Vegas home.

Seeing record temperatures and increasing waste, Cruz worries that conditions on Earth won’t be livable in the future. “People pretty much think short term, so we never take the time to invest in proper long-term solutions,” he said.

And while he said he understands the importance of the right to bear arms, he’s concerned with how easy it is for people to get a gun.

Joseph Wiseman, a 52-year-old Presbyterian pastor in Wichita, Kansas, wants the country to prioritize protections for women’s health care, including access to abortion after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. WadeLGBTQ persons.

“I’m very concerned that basic human rights are under threat,” he said. “The blatant politicization of the Supreme Court and the handing down of that ruling really brought home in stark circumstance how deadly important this is for the livelihood of 51% of God’s children.”

Wiseman was a Republican all his life. However, he switched to Democrat status in the last few years. He said he worries about the “dangerous” shift toward authoritarianism and Christian nationalism happening in the country, especially within the GOP.

He said that he must remain optimistic.

“I have to be optimistic that the threat will be met and that basic human rights can be secured for all,” Wiseman said.

The majority of respondents said the opposite. According to the poll, about three-quarters (75%) of American adults don’t feel confident that the federal government will be able to solve the major problems facing the nation in 2023.

Around one-third of Republicans, Democrats and Independents consider the state of politics to be a crucial issue facing the country.

Michael Holcomb, a 35 year-old audio technician from Los Angeles, is calling for less polarization in elections. He believes that this leads to more extreme politicians. However, he believes the issue extends beyond politics.

“I think that it’s more of a cultural problem,” the independent said. “We all have to figure out a way to get past it.”

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The poll of 1,124 adults was conducted Dec. 1-5 using a sample drawn from NORC’s probability-based AmeriSpeak Panel, which is designed to be representative of the U.S. population. The margin of sampling error is +/- 3.8 percentage points for all respondents.