But voters who showed up to the polls on Tuesday had a different point of view and delivered stinging defeats to Republicans.
In particular, he pointed to housing and healthcare prices for the upper middle class, while workers who live paycheck to paycheck are focused on food and fuel prices.
“The public is voting for candidates that they think will make life more affordable,” he said.
Indeed, democratic socialist Zohran Mamdani won the race to be mayor of New York City with promises to make housing, groceries and transportation more affordable.
To be sure, inflation has cooled substantially since topping 9% in June 2022. But President Donald Trump’s tariffs have kept it sticky, with the consumer price index ticking back up to 3% in September.
And while overall inflation hasn’t jumped sharply and consistently comes in below Wall Street forecasts, consumers are noticing higher prices at the grocery store for basics like coffee.
“It explains why Trump was able to come back and do exceedingly well back in 2024, because the Democrats did not address affordability,” Luntz told CNN.
So it’s not enough to tout the annual rate of inflation. What matters more is how much prices for bread, milk, cars, homes and insurance are.
Democrats finally discovered that, after getting burned in 2024 and are making big promises to improve affordability, Luntz said.
“But make no mistake, how much you pay at the cash register is going to determine who you vote for in these elections,” he predicted.
In addition, the White House has highlighted lower gas prices and prices for Thanksgiving staples at top retailers as well.
“I don’t want to hear about the affordability, because right now, we’re much less,” Trump told reporters Thursday, maintaining that his party is the one doing a better job. “The only problem is the Republicans don’t talk about it.”
