Rising costs, healthcare and foreign policy weigh on US voters ahead of midterm elections — SkimNews
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- Trump returned to the White House in January 2025 promising revived domestic industries and eased household costs, but the war in Iran, global energy supply disruptions and tariffs have added to economic uncertainty as voters head to the polls Nov. 3.
- Pennsylvania, which backed the winner of the last five presidential elections, is home to some of the most fiercely contested congressional races in the country, making it a key battleground for control of Capitol Hill.
- The war in Iran and disruptions to global oil supplies have driven diesel prices higher, and one trucker said his fuel costs had doubled; higher freight expenses can be passed on to businesses and consumers.
- One Big Beautiful Bill, Trump's sweeping tax and spending legislation, included substantial reductions in projected federal Medicaid spending, a program covering low-income Americans and people with disabilities.
- Affordable Care Act: the expiration of enhanced insurance subsidies has renewed concerns about access to affordable medical care, even as the 2010 law expanded coverage to millions of Americans.
- Wanda Caroll-Russell, a care worker, said medications she takes cost US$800 and that without healthcare she would lose access to them, while a client would lose access to her care and his home.
- Chris Borick, a Lehigh University political science professor, said the combined grievances have built "really potent voter animosity" toward Republican control in Washington — a price he says might be pretty significant.
Why it matters: For Republicans defending both chambers, the November 3 vote is a direct test of Trump's second-term record: a trucker's doubled fuel bill, Medicaid reductions in the One Big Beautiful Bill and expired Obamacare subsidies. Borick says those grievances have built "potent voter animosity" toward Republican control, and losing either chamber would constrain the president's agenda with two years left.
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