The AP VoteCast system revealed that high inflation was the top consideration for voters in the midterm elections, just as Republicans had hoped. But the survey also showed that the survival of democracy also weighed heavily on voters’ minds.

Control of Congress — and a choice between sharply contrasting visions of America — hang in the balance. The result, as of early Wednesday, is a close election that appears to fall short of the massive losses that often beset the party in power during a midterm vote. About half of voters say inflation factored significantly in their vote. Slightly fewer — 44% — say the future of democracy was their primary consideration, as reported by The Associated Press.

The detailed portrait of the American electorate is based on results from VoteCast, an extensive survey of more than 94,000 voters nationwide conducted for The Associated Press by NORC at the University of Chicago.

About half of voters say inflation factored significantly in their vote, as groceries, gasoline, housing, food and other costs have shot up in the past year and raised the specter of inflation. The economy was an overarching concern for voters, about 8 in 10 of whom say it was in bad shape. A slim majority of voters say Biden’s policies caused inflation to be near 40-year highs, while just under half are blaming factors beyond his control, such as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Slightly fewer voters — 44% — say the future of democracy was their primary consideration. On the campaign trail, Biden warned that Republicans are posing a threat to democracy. Many GOP leaders continue to cast doubt on the U.S. electoral system, falsely claiming that the 2020 presidential election, which Trump lost, was rigged.

Nearly half of voters name the economy the top issue facing the country, and those voters back Republicans more than Democrats. No other issue comes close, but many other issues are named most important by about 1 in 10 voters. That includes abortion, health care, climate change and gun policy, where Democrats outpace Republicans by at least three to one.

Voters have become increasingly demoralized as the country’s political divisions have hardened. Roughly three-quarters say the country is headed in the wrong direction. That figure is higher than it was in the VoteCast survey of voters in 2020, at the height of the coronavirus pandemic.

Two years ago, the COVID-19 pandemic was considered the country’s top issue; now just 2% of voters name it the top priority as other issues have taken center stage.

Regardless of where you stand with these issues, we can probably all agree that the staggering poll numbers during a midterm election is a very welcome sight. People came out en masse to make their voice heard during an election where it may have been easy to just decide to stay home, and we at The Mining Journal think that’s a very encouraging sign. We should all continue to get out there and make our voices heard.