Issues most important to voters in swing states

 Kaylee McGhee White:

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In Michigan , for example, Democrats have zeroed in on abortion, hoping that a ballot initiative to add abortion rights to the state constitution will galvanize their own base as well as independent voters. But our research shows that abortion is the very last issue on voters’ minds. It comes in dead last to education, taxes, crime, and then inflation.

In Pennsylvania , the situation is the same. Democratic Senate candidate John Fetterman has made abortion a key part of his platform, but our research shows Pennsylvanians aren’t nearly as concerned about it as he is. They care much more about education, crime, taxes, and inflation.

But Democrats aren’t the only ones missing the mark. Republicans’ campaign messaging this year has been laser-focused on the economy, with much less of a focus on cultural battles such as school choice and parental rights.

These latter issues, however, are what voters are paying attention to the most, according to our research. This shouldn’t come as a surprise: Families are still reeling from the effects of COVID-19 school closures, and parents in particular are much more engaged and aware of what’s happening in the education system today than they were two years ago. They’re concerned about gender ideology, critical race theory, and the efforts by woke school administrators to lock them out of the classroom, and they’re no longer shy about demanding change.

These are the voters who are going to make the difference in November, just as they did last year. That's good news for Republicans since polls show the majority of voters side with the GOP on issues such as education freedom and woke curriculum. But it's not at all clear whether the GOP plans to take advantage of this opportunity. The party still talks and acts like it's stuck in the era of fiscal conservatism, which, important though it might be, is not the electoral slam dunk they seem to think it is.

Still, there's no question Republicans are more engaged culturally than they used to be. House Republicans' Commitment to America's "Parents' Bill of Rights," which lists curricular transparency and parental involvement as core priorities, is a good start. Even better is Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin's (R) recent guidance prohibiting public schools from socially transitioning gender-confused children behind their parents' backs. These are commonsense measures that, despite the Left's best efforts, are also largely popular.
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The liberal Democrat agenda looks like a freak show to many Americans.  Certainly, candidates like Fetterman fit that profile.  Here in Texas, illegal immigration is a big issue, especially for border residents.  It is one of the reasons why many Hispanic voters are now supporting Republicans and Hispanic women are running as Republicans.  Inflation is also a huge issue for most votes and especially those on a fixed income.  I suspect that it will be an even bigger issue when people get their property tax bill with their appraised at inflated values.