From the toplines of a new poll by The Working Class Project:

• Working class voters overwhelmingly disapprove of the job President Trump is doing on lowering the cost of living, even as they remain split evenly on his overall approval and favorability.

• Working class voters prefer Democratic messaging focused on rewarding and valuing hard work vs. overhauling broken systems and criticizing the wealthy. This messaging helps improve Democrats’ standing among working class voters on the economy.

• Democrats face dual challenges on economic and cultural issues and need to address both. Calling out politicians’ obsession with social issues helps attract more working class support.

The poll of 3,000 working class voters was taken across 21 states from August 18-27. Overall, these self-identified working class voters supported President Trump by seven points in 2024, yet the poll found significant opportunities for Democrats in a generic ballot midterm matchup.”

“Pessimism about the direction of the country is growing among Republicans: Forty-nine percent of Republicans say things in the United States are heading the right direction down from 75% in June,” The Associated Press and the University of Chicago’s National Opinion Research Center report. An excerpt: “Since June, the share of adults who say the country is on the wrong track increased 13 percentage points from 62% to 75%. The shift occurred primarily among Republicans. In June, 29% of Republicans said the country was heading in the wrong direction. That number is now 51%. The vast majority of Democrats have felt the country is headed in the wrong direction since Donald Trump won the election in 2024…Among Republicans, there are notable differences by age and gender: those under 45 are more likely than older Republicans (61% vs 43%) to say the country is off track, and Republican women are more likely than men (60% vs 43%) to share that view…Views on Donald Trump’s handling of the issues are highly partisan. Trump’s best issues are border security (55% approve) and crime (46%). Roughly 4 in 10 approve of his handling of health care, trade, the economy, the conflict between the Israelis and Palestinians, foreign policy, and immigration…Overall, 39% of adults approve of the way Trump is handing his job as president and 60% disapprove…Roughly 60% of the public feels Trump has gone too far in imposing new tariffs on other countries, using presidential power to achieve his goals, and in using the military or federal law enforcement in U.S. cities…Nearly all Democrats believe Trump is overstepping in these policy areas. Most Republicans say Trump’s actions are about right, but nearly a quarter believe deploying the national guard and his using presidential powers are excessive, and about a third feel imposing new tariffs has gone too far…The nationwide poll was conducted September 11-15, 2025 using the AmeriSpeak® Panel, the probability-based panel of NORC at the University of Chicago. Online and telephone interviews using landlines and cell phones were conducted with 1,183 adults. The overall margin of sampling error is +/- 3.8 percentage points.” More here.

In “Rural Americans Face Unprecedented Price Hikes for Health Care,” Jeanne Lambrew and Emma Ford write at The C entry Foundation: “The implications of actions by the Trump administration and congressional leadership are becoming increasingly clear: overall private health insurance marketplace premiums will climb at the same time as health care tax credits fall. This “double whammy” will disproportionately affect rural Americans…Specifically, new rules, tariffs, legislation, and inaction have contributed to the highest median proposed premium hikes for the individual market in the past five years: 18 percent as of August 6, 2025…At the same time, the scheduled drop in tax credits for health insurance marketplace premiums in January 2026 will increase out-of-pocket premiums by an average of 93 percent in HealthCare.gov states…According to this new analysis by The Century Foundation of thirty-two states, rural Americans will be disproportionately affected by imminent changes to marketplace coverage…Out-of-pocket premiums will increase on average by 107 percent for rural county residents compared to 89 percent for urban county residents—on top of national median increases of 18 percent…Looking at both premium increases and reliance on marketplace coverage, rural residents in states in the Upper Midwest and Southeast are at greatest risk of high prices and loss of health coverage due to recent changes in health policy.” Read more here.

Joanne Kenan explains “Why Voters Will Feel the Impact of GOP Health Cuts Before the Midterms” at Politico: “A full year before anyone casts their vote in November 2026 — meaning now, in the fall of 2025 — the American health care system will begin transitioning from an era of unprecedented expansion of coverage to an era of unprecedented cutbacks. And President Donald Trump and the GOP-controlled Congress will be easy to blame…Unless Congress reaches a deal fast on some expiring Obamacare provisions, insurance premiums are set to rise, often by double-digit percentages, in and out of Affordable Care Act exchanges. Hospitals are retrenching ahead of the massive cuts imposed by Trump’s “big, beautiful bill.” Altogether, around 14 million people will lose coverage in the coming decade, the Congressional Budget Office projected in August, with the first wave of losses beginning in months…And even if some of the changes in Trump’s sprawling law kick in after the 2026 elections, that doesn’t mean people won’t hear plenty about them beforehand. State legislatures will have to debate what or who to cut to fill gaping holes in their health care budgets. Health plans, providers and state Medicaid agencies will have to start educating the public about new rules established by the legislation, like Medicaid copays and work requirements…Then of course, there will be the actual political messaging, led by Democrats and advocacy groups who are ready to remind voters that the GOP cut health spending by $1 trillion while cutting taxes for the rich.” More here.