by Daniel de Visé
USA Today
The 2024 election was, to some extent, a referendum on inflation. Voters were mad about higher prices, and they vented their wrath on the Democrats.
Was that fair?
USA TODAY asked economists to ascribe blame for the historic run of inflation, which reached a 40-year peak in mid-2022. Inflation has cooled since then, to an annual rate of 2.6% in October. But prices are higher for good: about 21.4% higher since February 2020, according to an analysis by the personal finance site Bankrate.
Exit polls suggest inflation loomed large in Donald Trump’s triumph at the polls. More than two-thirds of voters said the economy was in bad shape, an ABC News exit poll found. In a CBS News exit poll, three-quarters of voters said inflation was a hardship.