Politics

Polls: Midterms Voters Sought Anti-War Candidates

Did an unauthorized war sink these candidates or was the war just a scapegoat for an already poor economy?

2 hours ago·Updated 1 hour ago

Polls: Midterms Voters Sought Anti-War Candidates

Story

Above: People voting in the U.S. midterm elections in Brooklyn, N.Y., on Nov. 3. Image credit: Timothy A. Clary/Getty Images

The Facts

A YouGov poll released Monday found that 44% of Americans were less likely to vote for a candidate who supported the U.S.-Israel war on Iran, compared with 13% who were more likely. Another 26% said it would not make much difference in their vote.
PressTV
Al Jazeera
In the same survey, 56% said the U.S. should prioritize avoiding higher prices at home even if military goals in Iran are not fully met, while 22% chose those goals. Half of Republicans picked the military objectives, against 4% of Democrats.
PressTV
Institute for Global Affairs (Eurasia Group)
The survey of 1,000 U.S. adults, fielded Oct. 29 to Nov. 2 with a margin of error of plus or minus 3.4 points, found 53% said Congress should have the final say on ending military action against Iran, while 29% said Donald Trump should and 18% were unsure.
Institute for Global Affairs (Eurasia Group)
Al Jazeera
Exit polls from last Tuesday's elections showed 74% of voters called the Iran war crucial or a major factor in their vote, and 63% of that group backed Democrats. Some 90% cited government corruption, with 56% of them voting Democratic.
Intelligencer
National Review
A Reuters/Ipsos poll completed Monday found 71% of Americans, including 51% of Republicans, want Congress to pass legislation ending the Iran war, and 62% backed repealing Trump's tariffs. Exit polls showed 66% said the tariffs hurt the economy.
NBC News
The Jerusalem Post
The Associated Press Voter Poll found 71% of voters said Congress must do more to check Trump. In the Reuters/Ipsos survey, 42% said it would be bad for the country if the new Congress tried to impeach him, while 33% said it would be good.
The Jerusalem Post
New York Post

Sources Split

LEFT

CENTER

RIGHT

ESTAB
CRIT

CENTER

PRO
ESTAB

The Spin

Narrative A

Anti-Iran war public opinion was well known before the election, and these numbers put the nail in the coffin. Gas prices and grocery bills climbed while a conflict launched without congressional sign-off dragged on, and voters punished every pro-war candidate they could. The appetite for presidents picking fights abroad with no check from Congress is gone.

American Conservative

Al Jazeera

Narrative B

Pinning a historic wipeout on one war is convenient scapegoating. Household budgets were strained long before the first bomb fell, and tariffs, enforcement overreach and a steady drip of corruption stories piled on plenty more pain. Foreign policy itself, excluding the economy, barely registered as a top concern, while the price of gas, groceries and healthcare decided the election.

The John Doyle Show on Youtube

Intelligencer