For midterm campaigns, economy doesn’t rate

Polls show Americans are still worried about the economy, but it hasn’t really been present in this year’s midterm campaigns. As with any time economic matters comes up in a race, there’s the economic reason and the political one. 

“Democrats have been reluctant to tie themselves to President Obama and his policies,” says David Gura, Marketplace reporter based in Washington, D.C.

But the real, that is, economic reason? The U.S. economy is doing better, with lower unemployment, steady growth, lower gas prices, and other metrics that show overall improvement. Voters for whom the economy trumped all last election, can now focus on foreign policy or social issues, and candidates who excel in those areas are playing to their strengths. 

And yet, as we’ve been reporting through our series, Your Economy, many Americans don’t feel overall economic improvement in their daily lives. 

“While unemployment has gone down, real income hasn’t gone up,” Gura says. 

That’s why for many voters, it feels like the economy is stuck in place.