US midterms hinge on rising costs for food, gas and housing

Sixty days remain before the midterm elections in the United States, which will renew the entire House of Representatives and a third of the Senate. Across the country, voters' main concern is the cost of living. The campaign is dominated by one word: "affordability," the ability to make ends meet.

Even Republican candidates are using the issue against their own majority. In Iowa, a campaign ad for candidate Zach Lahn, backed by Donald Trump, denounces rising gas and food prices and the struggles of families. Vice President JD Vance responded by attributing inflation to the policies of the Biden administration and arguing that rebuilding the middle-class economy takes time.

The data show a price increase of more than 3% since Trump took office. Food spending rose by 21%: ground beef for hamburgers costs 23% more, coffee 35% more. The only decrease was in prescription drugs, down 3.1%.

Housing costs also weigh on households, up 3.2%, with mortgage rates stable at 6.7%, and electricity, up 8%. Gasoline rose by 34%, an increase also linked to the war.

Stagnant wages, work is not enough

According to Mark Rank, a professor at Washington University in St. Louis, price increases affect food, housing, higher education and health care, while wages have not kept pace. Rank says between 50 and 70% of the population faces this difficulty.

Rank describes a "paradox of poverty": more and more people work hard, often holding two jobs, follow the rules, but still fall behind economically. This fuels an increasingly common question: are people better off than two years ago?

The cost of living is proving to be a challenge that cuts across political lines and a threat to the Republican majority, in a country where voting often follows the wallet.