More Republicans than Democrats say their financial situation is better this year than it was last year, according to a new American Barometer poll.
The survey, conducted by Hill.TV and the HarrisX polling company found that 48 percent of Republicans said they were better off financially since last year, while 23 percent of Democrats said the same.
Twenty-six percent of Democrats polled said their economic situations had become worse over the past year, while 10 percent of Republicans agreed.
The U.S. has experienced economic growth in recent years under the Obama and Trump administrations.
The economy added 201,000 jobs during the month of August, while unemployment held steady at 3.9 percent, nearing an 18-year low.
Average hourly earnings, according to the Commerce Department, were also up 2.9 percent for the year, marking the fastest growth since the end of the recession in June 2009.
President Trump has touted the recent gains, saying they are a direct result of his administration’s fiscal policies, but Democrats have said the growth began under former President Obama.
“I think because of how polarizing both President Obama and now President Trump are, it’s going to be really, really tough to find a Democrat who says ‘yeah, this is the Trump economy. It’s going to be really, really tough to find a Republican who says ‘hey this is the Obama economy,” GOP pollster Jim Hobart told Hill.Tv’s Joe Concha on “What America’s Thinking.”
“It’s almost like a presidential approval question when you ask, whose economy is it, really.”
— Julia Manchester
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