A new poll of 1,000 Connecticut voters found inflation and the cost of living are top of mind ahead of next month’s election.
The Wesleyan SurveyLab poll was commissioned by the nonprofit Connecticut Project.
“We really wanted to get a finger on the pulse of where especially working-class voters are as they head into November,” said Meghan Holden, Connecticut Project director of marketing and communications.
“It’s super clear from this poll that cost of living really is top of mind for Connecticut voters, that working-class people are especially feeling the pain,” Holden said.
Logan Dancey, associate professor of government at Wesleyan, helped lead the research.
“When you ask people what the most important issue is, 40% say inflation/cost of living,” Dancey said. “But even going down beyond that, the issues people name like taxes and housing and these other things are also tied up in cost of living concerns.”
“When we asked people what came to mind when they thought about living in Connecticut, a lot of them said ‘expensive’ as one of their top words,” Dancey said.
More than 70% of respondents indicated they believe it is harder to earn a living wage and afford basic goods and services now in Connecticut, compared to a year ago.
Respondents were also asked whether they had considered leaving Connecticut due to the cost of living.
“There’s a lot of rhetoric in our state around concerns about wealthy people leaving our state if certain policies are passed or if the state decides to invest in certain programs and services,” Holden said.
“One thing that’s really clear from this polling is that, actually, right now, working-class people are the ones who are seriously considering leaving Connecticut because of how expensive it is,” she said.
