The emerging message from voters is unusually blunt: they want Congress to make daily life cheaper and to deal with the war in Iran, not to turn the next session into a referendum on Donald Trump. An AP-NORC poll finds that about 8 in 10 registered voters want lowering the cost of living to be a top priority, while roughly 7 in 10 want ending the war with Iran. By contrast, only about 4 in 10 want investigations of the Trump administration to be a high priority, and only about 2 in 10 want Congress focused on supporting Trump’s agenda.
That hierarchy cuts across party lines, even if it does not erase them. Most Republicans and Democrats alike put affordability first, and both groups also rate the Iran conflict highly. Yet the poll shows sharp intraparty divides beneath that broad consensus. Democratic voters who identify as democratic socialists are far more likely than other Democrats to want investigations of Trump and to oppose military aid to Israel. On the Republican side, MAGA voters are much more eager than non-MAGA Republicans to see Congress support Trump’s agenda. Moderates in both parties are more likely to prefer compromise and common ground.
The findings matter because they suggest voters are less interested in symbolic combat than in governing. Only about half say reducing the deficit and finding bipartisan common ground should be high priorities, and fewer still elevate AI regulation or military aid to Israel. Interviews in the poll underscore that mood: some voters want accountability for Trump, but many say economic pressures should come first, especially with limited time left in his term.
Search data from Google Trends reinforces the same picture. Voters are actively looking up the economy, mortgage rates, rent, gas prices, inflation, crime, health care, immigration, and the Iran conflict. That online behavior suggests the next Congress will face intense pressure to deliver on pocketbook issues and foreign policy before partisan investigations dominate the agenda. If either party wins control, the political reward may go to the side that proves it can lower costs and restore stability, not simply score points against Trump.