Mohr, a 54-year-old home health aide, mostly shops in the clearance aisle. Her $17 an hour salary, which she has increased by 80 cents over the past two years, is no longer nearly enough to cover basic living. She says there is no question she would vote for Donald Trump again. Every time she goes to the supermarket, her resolve becomes stronger.
“There was no inflation when Trump was president,” she says. “We could afford food.”
Piggly Wiggly’s soda atmosphere past aisle 9 is a stark reminder of what matters most to Americans in this election year. In poll after poll, voters say inflation, particularly food prices, is a major concern.
That’s true in this Midwestern manufacturing town filled with high-paying jobs, rock-bottom unemployment, and some of the lowest people. gas, food and housing prices domestic. Kitchen and bath products manufacturer Kohler and food manufacturers Johnsonville and Sargento Foods all have headquarters nearby, providing a steady and steady career. The unemployment rate is 2.1 percentone of the lowest in Wisconsin.
Sheboygan anyway Residents have one deep-rooted grievance. Like the rest of the country, food prices have risen 25% in his four years, causing much of the economic discontent.
“Even though inflation is down, prices are still going up and people are feeling it,” said Stefano Viglietti, who with his wife owns three restaurants and an Italian specialty market in the area. says. “There’s still a lot of insecurity around prices. People here aren’t millionaires. They’re working middle class people, so when the price of eggs and milk goes up, they have to adjust everything else. not.”
In interviews with more than 30 shoppers across three stores, nearly all cited high food prices as a major financial hurdle. Many said they were sticking with the candidate they voted for last time. That may be because Mr. Trump was better for the economy, or because they value President Biden’s positions on other issues, such as abortion rights. However, nearly one-third said they had revised their opinion due to inflation, and some were considering voting for the first time because of food prices.
Wisconsin is one of six battleground states that will decide the next president this fall.According to a poll released last month by Marquette Law School, voters in the state evenly split between Biden and Trump, each with 49 percent support. In 2016, the state helped certify President Trump’s election. Four years later, so did Biden.
Food prices are one of the biggest issues hurting Biden’s popularity nationally. Food inflation is stabilizing, but food prices were flat in February compared to the previous month, with some items such as rice, chicken, milk and coffee actually cheaper, but families still face stickers at the register. experiencing shock.
“Grocery is an important factor in people’s perception of inflation,” said David Ortega, a food economist at Michigan State University. “We go to the grocery store every week, sometimes more often, and each time it feels like the prices are going up.”
In Sheboygan County, where Piggly Wiggly is located, 57% of residents voted for Trump last time, so Biden will have a tougher job here than in other parts of the state.
Royce Garcia, 59, voted for Biden four years ago. This time, they are reconsidering their support due to soaring food prices and health insurance premiums.
“The most important thing to me is what these presidents are going to do for us.” Garcia, who works with dementia patients at a senior living facility, has a can of nacho cheese sauce. He said he was buying. “Jobs matter, paychecks matter, children’s education matters. But Mr. Trump gave us money to help with things, and that matters too.”
Food prices started rising early in the pandemic and remain high even as life returns to normal.supply Chain failures and labor shortages, combined with increased demand as more Americans eat at home, have pushed up food costs overall. More recently, costs have remained elevated due to rising wages, the war in Ukraine, and a number of natural disasters such as drought and the largest outbreak of bird flu in history.
Even though both inflation and perceptions of the economy have started to improve recently, people remain less optimistic about the president and his handling of the economy. Almost half of voters recorded 47 percentA New York Times/Siena College poll released this month found that Americans strongly disapprove of the president’s performance.
Back at Piggly Wiggly, food prices remained front and center. The store was filled with signs proclaiming “more ways to save money.” There were discounts, “pig deals” and cash-back offers on gas, all aimed at winning the hearts of price-conscious buyers.
Like Nikki Gorsky, many here said they started shopping strategically, checking weekly flyers for the best prices and planning their grocery shopping trips accordingly. Today she stopped by for tortillas and turkey with her young sons.
Gorski’s family lives on one income. Her husband works at a local manufacturer and she stays at home with her sons. They’ve had to make a lot of tradeoffs in recent years, she says. “There’s no need to eat out anymore.” No more organic milk. Use more chicken instead of beef.
“Yes, groceries are expensive and we are making sacrifices,” she said, adding that her weekly grocery bill has jumped from $150 to $300 in recent years. But she stressed that she is more worried about women’s rights and other voting issues than food prices. “I’m voting for Biden no matter what,” she said.
Biden administration took steps to lower fertilizer prices and make food more affordable and promoting competition in the agricultural industry. As prices fall, the White House is urging grocery stores and other businesses to pass on the savings to consumers.
“This election is a choice between Scranton and Park Avenue,” campaign spokesman Seth Schuster said. “President Biden has made it his presidential mission to lower costs for Americans, from prescription drugs to housing to groceries.”
Still, Biden is struggling. He is trying to convince Americans that the public finances have improved under his watch, even as the president presided over a period of strong economic growth with nearly 15 million new jobs and the lowest unemployment rate since the 1960s. . Wages have risen four times faster than food prices over the past year, but many voters say they still don’t feel safe.
“Why do we have such super wealthy people? [people] Are you saying everything is okay when everything is up at least a dollar or two? ” Factory worker Steve R., 36, voted for Trump in 2020 but said he does not plan to vote this year. He spoke on condition that his last name be withheld for fear of political backlash.
“I hate not voting for Trump and Biden, but at the end of the day, I don’t think either of them deserve to vote again,” he said of Trump and Biden. “Please tell me a blue-collar worker who knows what it’s like when the price of eggs goes up and the price of meat doubles.”
The Trump campaign said in a statement that Americans remain reeling from the effects of high prices. “Under President Trump, there was no inflation, gas was cheap, food was affordable, and the American Dream was alive and well,” spokeswoman Caroline Levitt said.
But some shoppers said food prices weren’t a big issue, especially in the region where many people work in agriculture and food processing.
“I grew up on a dairy farm, so I’ll always support dairy prices no matter what,” said Rachel Longseth, 69, as she loaded her cart with cream cheese, ricotta and pasta for stuffing. Told. “We’re okay with higher prices for meat, produce and dairy because we believe good food is worth spending money on. Cereal? No. But again, we’re okay with higher prices for meat, produce and dairy. I don’t eat much, so I just pass by.”
Longseth, a retired medical secretary, and her husband still shop like they used to, she said. And she has no intention of changing her voting habits and will support Biden again.
“There was never a question of how I would vote in an election,” she said. “And no amount of inflation or bad news will change that.”
Economists say President Trump’s proposed policies, such as new tariffs on imports and deportations of illegal immigrants, could spark an outbreak. Food prices will be even higher. But for many Trump supporters, nostalgia for pre-pandemic prices has overshadowed his current campaign promises.
Shane Reynolds, 71, a retired roofer who lives on Social Security checks, says he has found it difficult to buy groceries.
“Things are 100 percent better under the Trump administration,” he said. “There was no inflation. Prices have really gone up since the Biden administration. Now I have to go through half of this product because I can’t afford it.”
He bought a Cornish chicken for $5.79 and some potatoes. His eyes lingered on a display of sports drinks marked down from $3 to nearly $5.99. Reynolds paused.
“Gatorade is on sale, but I can’t afford it yet,” he said, pushing his cart into the next aisle.
