Registered voters ranked the economy as the top issue for the upcoming election, according to Gallup.
Nearly nine in 10 registered voters consider the presidential candidates’ positions on the economy “extremely” (44%) or “very” (45%) important to their vote, outranking terrorism and national security (83%), education (82%), healthcare (80%), crime (79%), and race relations (76%).
President Trump has usually bested vice president Joe Biden, the Democratic presidential nominee, on polls about the economy, and Trump holds a 6 point advantage over Biden, according to Gallup. But other polls show that Trump’s lead is slipping. Recent polling from CNN found Trump’s lead has slipped to 1 percentage point.
The jump in importance comes as the virus has rattled the economy.
The economy contracted at a record-breaking 31.4% annual rate in the second quarter, the Bureau of Economic Analysis reported last week.
The negative growth in Wednesday’s report is by far the largest in U.S. history. Previously, the biggest annualized drop in GDP was 10% in 1958, according to the Commerce Department’s Bureau of Economic Analysis. The largest drop in GDP during the Great Recession from 2007 to 2009 was 8.4%.
The sharp decline in economic activity in the second quarter reflects the stay-at-home orders issued by governments in March and April that were partially lifted in some areas of the country in May and June, the BEA reported.
The contraction in the second quarter comes on the heels of the economy, contracting 5% in the first quarter.
The economy has recovered since the worst of the pandemic, but the comeback is expected to be slow.
The economy is projected for a record jump in GDP in the third quarter, which will be announced shortly before November’s election.
The real GDP is expected to rise 25% in the third quarter of 2020, reversing much of the decline from the 31% decline in GDP during the second quarter.
Despite the expected third-quarter growth, economic activity will still be below what it was before the pandemic hit the United States.
