Twenty-two percent (22%) of voters believe their personal finances are getting better, while another 28% say their finances are getting worse. A PoliticalIQ survey found that 48% believe their personal finances are staying about the same, and 2% are not sure.
The results reflect a modest increase in pessimism following Election 2020. The number saying their finances are getting better are down five points just prior to Election Day and down four from the weekend after the election. On the other side of the equation, the number saying their finances are worse is up three points since the pre-election survey.
The decline in optimism has been driven by Republicans. Prior to the election, 43% of GOP voters believed their finances were getting better. That fell to 36% after the election and 24% now. Such a partisan perspective is fairly normal following an election. Typically, Republicans are more upbeat about the economy when a Republican is in the White House and Democrats more optimistic when a Democrat is president.
What is a bit unusual is that there has not been a corresponding bounce in optimism among Democrats. Prior to the election, 18% of those in Joe Biden’s party said that their personal finances were getting better. That number has inched up just three points to 21% today.
It is impossible to know precisely why Democratic optimism has not increased. It may be that President-elect Biden’s victory was accompanied by disappointing results for Democrats in House, Senate, and State Legislative Races.
LISTEN TO Scott’s Podcast.
SIGN UP to receive Scott’s free email newsletter.
CHECK OUT Scott’s latest polls.
Note: Neither Scott Rasmussen, ScottRasmussen.com, nor RMG Research, Inc. have any affiliation with Rasmussen Reports. While Scott Rasmussen founded that firm, he left more than seven years ago and has had no involvement since that time.
Methodology
The survey of 1,200 Registered Voters was conducted by Scott Rasmussen using a mixed mode approach from December 3-5, 2020. Field work for the survey was conducted by RMG Research, Inc. Most respondents were contacted online or via text while 192 were contacted using automated phone polling techniques. Online respondents were selected from a list of Registered Voters and through a process of Random Digital Engagement. Certain quotas were applied, and the sample was lightly weighted by geography, gender, age, race, education, and political party to reasonably reflect the nation’s population of Registered Voters. Other variables were reviewed to ensure that the final sample is representative of that population.
