James Morton isn’t sure which party he’s going to support in November’s elections, and he doesn’t like his options.Morton, a 67-year-old retired truck driver in Colorado, said Democrats have “gone too far to the left towards socialism,” while Republicans are “globalists” who “don’t care about the working-class people in this country.” Morton, an independent who voted for Donald Trump in 2024, is leaning toward backing third-party candidates in races for the House and the Senate this year.
But he said his decision will come down to the high cost of living.“The No.
1 thing is getting the cost of things back down, inflation under control, and pretty much that’s it,” Morton said.He noted that he and his wife have been buying different groceries as they navigate high prices.
Morton is among the 5% of voters surveyed last month in a national NBC News poll who said they weren’t sure which party they wanted to see controlling Congress after this year’s elections.NBC News spoke with 16 of those undecided voters as they weigh their votes this fall, some of whom declined to share their full names discussing politics.
These voters feel little loyalty to either party — and many of them said that’s in part because they aren’t sure either party understands what’s important to them.Almost every one said high costs are top of mind.In the NBC News poll, 50% of voters said they wanted Democrats to win control of Congress in the midterms, while 45% said they wanted Republicans to have control.
How the undecided voters in between resolve their strong, sometimes conflicting feelings could ultimately decide what Congress looks like in 2027, from who controls the majority to how many seats that party holds.Costs dominate Voters’ focus on making ends meet has been standing out in recent polling.In the latest NBC News survey, voters ranked cost of living and inflation as the most important issues facing the country, followed by government corru...