A national poll conducted in August found a sharp partisan divide over the cost of living—and a notable gap between President Donald Trump’s MAGA supporters and other voters who backed him in 2024. Just 28% of voters who identify with the MAGA movement said everyday expenses had become less affordable since Trump took office. MAGA voters were more likely to say costs had improved than worsened. A 43% plurality said the cost of living is bad now but that they could remember times when it was worse. The pattern was different among Trump voters who do not identify as MAGA. More than half of that group—52%—said the cost of living in their area was the worst they could remember. Among non-MAGA Trump voters who gave that answer, 53% said they would vote Republican if the midterm election were held tomorrow; more than one-quarter said they would choose a Democrat or third-party candidate, with the rest undecided or saying they would not vote. The survey also found that 70% of voters who supported Kamala Harris in 2024 said living costs were worse than they could remember. The results suggest that affordability concerns may be reinforcing Democratic opposition to Trump while putting pressure on Republicans to retain voters outside his most loyal base. The poll was conducted online by Public First from Aug. 8 to 12 among 2,004 U.S. adults. Its overall margin of error is 2.2 percentage points, with larger margins for smaller groups. The findings are based on voters’ perceptions, which can differ by party: respondents’ assessments of past affordability shifted when questions referred to a presidential administration rather than a calendar year. A separate analysis of Living Wage Institute data found that household budgets nationwide rose an average of 2.5% from early 2025 to early 2026. The analysis reported similar average budget increases for households of Trump and Harris voters, even as their judgments about the economy differed. The divide could matter as candidates campaign ahead of the November midterms. Michigan Republican strategist Jason Roe said frustration among voters who are “mad, frustrated, disappointed, disillusioned” could make them harder to turn out. Democratic strategist Jesse Ferguson said some Trump voters who blame Republicans for high costs may either back another party or stay home. Among voters under 25 who said the cost of living was the worst they had experienced, 56% said they trusted Democrats to lower costs, compared with 20% who trusted Republicans. The poll’s findings underline the political challenge for both parties: economic strain is widely felt, but voters do not share the same view of how conditions have changed or who is responsible.