Voters Cite Cost of Living and Immigration in Midterms

Voters across the country told NPR which issues drove them to the polls in Tuesday's midterm elections for Congress. NPR's feature, written by Michel Martin and Steve Inskeep, collects their answers in their own words.

Voters told Reuters they were motivated by issues ranging from the cost of living to President Donald Trump's immigration crackdown. Reuters reported those accounts from voters it spoke with after the vote.

Cost of living came up often. Nearly two-thirds of voters in the exit polls blamed Trump for high prices, according to Reuters. Exit polls are surveys of voters as they leave polling places.

The concern appeared in pre-election polling too. In a Reuters/Ipsos poll released before the vote, 48% of registered voters said the cost of living was the top issue in deciding how they would vote in the midterms.

Other voters focused on the direction of the country. The AP Voter Poll found about 4 in 10 voters wanted "to express opposition" to Trump with their vote for Congress. Early takeaways from the same poll found most voters said the economy or the state of democracy was the top issue facing the country.

USA Today reported that voters leaving polling sites shared a range of issues that motivated their votes.