US midterm voters squeezed by gas and health costs

High gasoline, grocery, utility and health care costs are weighing on US voters ahead of November's midterm elections, with Democrats hoping affordability concerns can help them in competitive races.

In Ohio's Mahoning Valley, retired steelworker Denise Barber said gasoline prices and family health care needs had made her consider returning to part-time work. Barber, 68, said driving her husband to medical appointments after he had a mini stroke had become expensive because they live in what she called a “medical desert”.

Affordability is a central issue for voters this year. A Pew survey in June found that 29 percent of respondents spontaneously named an economic concern when asked what they wanted congressional candidates to discuss.

Energy costs have increased during the war with Iran. AAA motor club data showed the average price of regular gasoline had risen more than 45 percent since the war began, to $4.37 per gallon, or $1.15 per litre. US grocery prices were 2.2 percent higher than a year earlier in August.

Ohio remains expected to lean Republican in many districts, but Democrats are competitive in some House races. Former three-term senator Sherrod Brown is also trying to unseat Republican Jon Husted, who filled the vacancy left by Vice President JD Vance.

Paul Sracic, a nonresident senior fellow at the Hudson Institute, said Republicans faced “real danger” in the Senate race because the party in power usually struggles in midterm elections and voters are sensitive to gasoline prices.

Brown said working-class voters did not want the war or the rise in costs. He also criticised data centre investment, saying he would stand up to the sector.

David Green, a labor leader with the United Auto Workers union in Ohio, said affordability was affecting workers across the country. He said smaller UAW facilities in independent parts suppliers had seen layoffs and some plant closures over the past six months to a year.

Some residents said they were still waiting for the manufacturing revival President Donald Trump promised. Retired steelworker Mike Rubicz said the Mahoning Valley had gone from a major steel centre to having virtually no steel mills left.