Inflation has helped fuel a global backlash toward incumbents, experts say.
by Max Zahn
ABC News
A surging stock market, low unemployment and robust growth — by just about every measure, the economy stood poised to deliver victory for Vice President Kamala Harris.
The exception, of course, was inflation, and it appears to have overshadowed other indicators. More than two-thirds of voters say the economy is in bad shape, according to the preliminary results of an ABC News exit poll.
Inflation likely shaped negative voter perceptions of the economy and helped fuel anger toward the party in power, just as it has done across the globe since the pandemic unleashed a wave of rapid price increases, experts told ABC News.
The political potency of inflation stems from the visceral, recurring sense of unease caused by high prices, experts added. That feeling leaves voters insecure about their future and desperate for a leader who can change the nation’s course.