WATERTOWN, Wis. — The economy splits the ticket for voters in swing state Wisconsin, with Trump voters telling The Post their costs are higher now than when the Don was in office, while Harris voters insist they’re not feeling the impact of inflation.
“I just went grocery shopping,” Cathy O’Boyle told The Post at a Trump Bus Tour stop in Waukesha, Wis. “The stuff I normally buy went up.”
Groceries aren’t the only thing pummeling her in the pocketbook.
“I pay $80 more a month on my mortgage for property taxes, and my home insurance just went up $500,” reports the 67-year-old instructor from Milwaukee.
But Harris voter Rick Walters took the opposite view. He told The Post while shopping at West Allis Farmers Market Thursday that he is “without question” doing better now than he was during Trump’s presidency.
The 70-year-old financial advisor lamented the economic narrative portrayed by what he calls “the civilian media,” which he believes “doesn’t really understand what is happening with the economy.”
Walters thinks the focus on food prices and things like “mythical $9 eggs” are inaccurate since wages have increased in the past few years.
“The inflation we had was atypical,” continued Walters, pointing out he believes the country is in a full-employment economy — meaning those who are seeking work can find it.
“Wages have gone up. House values have gone way up. Retirement plans exploded in value. The economy is much stronger,” he said, adding he believes we are still recovering from the 2008 financial crisis.
Young Republicans canvassed in Oak Creek last month, where voters shared their views of the economy with The Post. Along the door-knocking route, voters’ perceptions continued to align with their preferred presidential candidate.
Jeff Schaefer, 32, had a Trump sign in his front yard. As young children crowded around him at the door, he told The Post he voted for the first time in 2016.
It was for Trump.
“And then I got jury duty right after that,” he joked.
Asked if he’s doing better under the current economy than he was during Trump’s administration, Schaefer said there’s more money going out the door now compared to then.
“I don’t think [inflation] is going down,” he said. “It’s the new norm.”
Janet Czysz, 63, told The Post she’s passing on items she would normally buy at the market because of high prices.
“I mean, honestly, a bag of potato chips is $6.99. There are a lot of things I pass up. It’s noticeable and it continues to be.”
But the pressure doesn’t stop with the grocery store.
“The insurance for our cabin went up 40%,” she added incredulously, granting that the cabin’s value also increased. Still, the jump in insurance costs was staggering for their household.
The retiree is all-in on Trump’s no-tax on Social Security proposal and deduction on car loan interest.
“Unfortunately, at our age, we still have a car loan,” Czysz said. “They’re small things but they mean a lot,” she said of Trump’s tax proposals.
The Republican strategy of tying Kamala Harris to higher costs is dead in the water with Nadeen Balsis. The 75-year-old teacher told The Post that she doesn’t think the veep deserves the vitriol — but another Democrat does.
“She’s our Vice President. She has to go along with Biden. She has no control. Biden has the control,” the teacher said, leaning out her front door.
Balsis had already voted for Harris when the Republican volunteer reached her door.
“I can’t stand Donald J. Trump,” she said with exasperation.
She also said the economic situation hasn’t affected her in the way it’s affected others, but she likes that Harris is for the middle class.
“And aren’t we all middle class?” she asked. “We don’t have money like Trump and his supporters,” she added, indicating that she has voted Republican many times in the past.
“I vote for the person, not the party,” said the swing voter, indicating that she split her vote down the ballot in this election and check the box for different parties in different races. She has already voted for the incumbent Democrat in the Senate, Sen. Tammy Baldwin.
“I don’t know that we have the right candidates,” she added gloomily.
Amy Teutenberg is a former Democrat and once supported Bernie Sanders for president. The Spanish medical interpreter spent the 2024 campaign season as a ballot chaser for Turning Point USA.
Teutenberg told The Post she’s not doing better economically now than she was during Trump’s presidency. When asked what costs have increased for her, the 37-year-old responded glumly.
“I would mostly say the cost of housing, renting and the dream of ever owning a home,” she said.
Her top issues in the election are the economy and the border, and she’ll be voting for Republican businessman Eric Hovde in the Senate race because of his experience in the economic sector, which she hopes will lead to bringing down inflation.
In the latest Marquette Law School poll of Wisconsin registered voters conducted from Oct. 16-24, 50% said Trump would do a better job handling the economy, compared to 40% who thought the Vice President would do better. Notably, less than half of Wisconsin voters — 44% — described themselves as “living comfortably,” down from 48% just a month prior. The remaining portion said they were either struggling or just getting by.
The economy was the top-rated issue (38%) for voters in deciding who they would vote for, followed by immigration and border security and abortion tied at 15%. Harris leads Trump overall in that poll by just 1 point, 50% to 49%.
