They Voted for Trump.
How are they feeling about high grocery prices?
Donald J. Trump rode to the White House in 2024 on a pledge to make America more affordable and bring down the cost of everyday essentials.
“I won on groceries,” he told NBC News in 2024, referring to his electoral victory.
But as the midterm elections draw near, grocery prices have been climbing, driven upward by the Iran war, which has caused a surge in diesel and gasoline costs and made shipping goods more expensive.
Consumer prices overall are up 3.7 percent from a year ago, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported on Wednesday, well above the government’s target. Food costs have risen 2.5 percent over the past 12 months. Among the goods whose prices are rising: fruits and vegetables (up 3.7 percent since last year), nonalcoholic beverages and materials (up 3.8 percent) and cereals and bakery products (up 2.1 percent).
The cost increases pose an intensifying problem for Republican candidates, and a growing number of them are distancing themselves from Mr. Trump and his policies. A White House spokesman, Matthew Middleton, defended the administration’s handling of the economy, saying the president had a strong pro-growth agenda.
In interviews in four states with crucial Senate races — Iowa, Ohio, Maine and Michigan — grocery shoppers who cast ballots for Mr. Trump in 2024 reflected on the rising prices, with some venting frustration with the president and others sticking by him. Here’s what they had to say about whether the president was to blame, and how (or whether) they might vote in the Nov. 3 midterms.
What Do They Think About High Grocery Prices?
“I don’t think he has lowered prices for anything.”
— Jessy Hakizimana, 44, of Indianola, Iowa
Mr. Hakizimana, an refugee from Rwanda who owns an excavating company, said price increases had changed the way he shopped and caused him to question his vote for Mr. Trump in 2024. “I never used to use coupons,” he said. “Now I’m looking for coupons,” Mr. Hakizimana, an independent, said as he loaded his pickup truck with vegetables, bananas, chicken, milk and lunch meat to make sandwiches for school lunches for his three children. He added of his 2024 vote: “It’s too soon to say I regret it. But so far, it doesn’t look good.” He was open to voting for either party in 2028 and undecided in this year’s Senate race in Iowa, but leaning toward the Republican candidate, Representative Ashley Hinson, he said.
“It’ll improve as things improve in Iran.”
— Carolyn Calcutt, 65, of Alpine Township, Mich.
Ms. Calcutt, a retired special education teacher, said that she was “hopeful” about the economy and that she thought Mr. Trump was doing an “amazing” job handling it. “He knows what he’s doing,” said Ms. Calcutt, a Republican. “He’s making sure that we’re safe and we’re healthy.” She said the Iran war and the president’s tariff policies were causing some short-term pain that would benefit the country in the long term.
“It was bad before, but now it’s way worse.”
— Angel Hartmier, 36, of New Lebanon, Ohio
Ms. Hartmier, a clerk at a gas station who also works in child care, said she was disappointed with Mr. Trump and unhappy about the price of groceries. The 2024 election was the first she had voted in, she recalled, and she hoped Mr. Trump would lower prices. “I am very disappointed, I thought things would change,” Ms. Hartmier, a single mother, said as she shopped for herself and her three children. She said she wasn’t sure what to do in the midterm election in Ohio, where Senator Jon Husted, a Republican, faces former Senator Sherrod Brown, a Democrat. “I might vote again, because I want things to get better,” Ms. Hartmier said. “But I did it for the first time and it all went sideways.”
“I don’t care about any of that stuff. That’s not nearly as important as some of the cultural stuff.”
— Aaron Huizenga, 45, of Zeeland, Mich.
Mr. Huizenga, an I.T. professional, said that price increases had been a “struggle” but that the economy was not as important to him as cultural issues. “I’m a conservative Christian, have been forever,” Mr. Huizenga said, adding that he could not accept Democrats’ positions on social issues including abortion. He said it would “be obviously nice” if the conflict in Iran ended, but that he did not “necessarily” disagree with the president’s decision to start the war, citing national security concerns. Mr. Huizenga called himself a committed Republican voter but said he was tuning out the pivotal Senate race in Michigan between Dr. Abdul El-Sayed, a progressive Democrat, and former Representative Mike Rogers, a Republican.
“I’m worried that some of the Democratic policies would have made it worse.”
— Bob Behrens, 56, of Polk City, Iowa
Mr. Behrens, an oncologist, said he did not expect grocery prices to have an impact on his ballot in the midterms and was skeptical Democrats could have done a better job managing the economy. “I still trust Republicans more fiscally than Democrats,” said Mr. Behrens, a Republican. He was disappointed that Mr. Trump had not sought congressional authorization to go to war in Iran, he said, but that he appreciated the war’s aims. “I don’t want Iran to have a nuclear weapon,” Mr. Behrens said. He added that he would probably vote for Ms. Hinson over Josh Turek, a Democrat, in the pivotal Senate race in Iowa. But he added that he would most likely vote for Rob Sand, a Democrat, for governor. “I think Rob Sand is a tremendous candidate,” Mr. Behrens said. “I think he’s smart.”
“I think the economy’s doing fairly well.”
— Dan Ratliff, 79, of Farmersville, Ohio
Mr. Ratliff, a retired systems engineer, said that Mr. Trump was being blamed for economic challenges he had inherited from President Joseph R. Biden Jr., and that any inflation related to high diesel costs was the part of the price of keeping Americans safe. Overall, he said, he judged the economy to be “humming along,” pointing to a resilient labor market. Mr. Ratliff, a Republican, said he planned to vote for Mr. Husted, the Republican incumbent, in Ohio’s closely watched Senate race.
“I think Trump did a better job as president like eight years ago.”
— Rebecca Guerrette, 58, Thomaston, Maine
Ms. Guerrette, 58, a retired nurse, said she was dissatisfied with the economy and thought the Iran war was a “waste of money.” Ms. Guerrette, an independent, added of the president, “You should be taking care of the people in your country.” In recent years, Ms. Guerrette said, it felt as if the “cost of living has risen” and “salaries haven’t matched that.” She said she probably would not vote in the race between Senator Susan Collins of Maine, a Republican, and Troy Jackson, a Democrat.
Produced by Leo Dominguez, Joanna Ni and Rumsey Taylor. Jesse Ellison in Maine contributed reporting. Photos by Anne Klein, Kevin Williams, Sam Easter and Jesse Ellison.
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