Red State Blues: Washington’s Economic and Political Landscape in 2022

In recent months, consumer prices in Washington have been rising rapidly for several years, but inflation has slowed down. The jobless rate has also been below 4% for over two years. The Republican party has a significant edge on immigration, with immigrants making up 13.9% of the population in 2022, the highest share in over a century. President Trump targeted immigrants in the country illegally and has a 40% to 35% lead over Biden on foreign conflicts and terrorism.

However, Biden has the upper hand when it comes to responding to political extremism and threats to democracy, which is the second biggest concern for respondents. Registered voters chose the Democrat over Trump by 39% to 33%. Trump is awaiting three criminal trials, including two related to his attempts to overturn the 2020 election results, and was convicted last month on charges of falsifying business records. He falsely claims his election defeat was due to fraud.

Biden also has an advantage over Trump on healthcare policy, with 40% of respondents supporting his approach compared to 29% for Trump. Biden was vice president in 2010 when President Obama passed a significant health care reform that increased access to health insurance. Previous polls have shown Biden and Trump in a close race, with Trump leading in battleground states recently.

The Reuters/Ipsos poll collected responses from 1,019 U.S. adults, including 856 registered voters, with a margin of error of 3.2 percentage points for all respondents and 3.5 percentage points for registered voters