DeSantis and Kemp won big on pocketbook issues
Inflation weighed heavy on some voters' minds
Fox News contributor Liz Peek discusses Florida gubernatorial race victor Ron DeSantis, R-Fla., what his victory could mean for the future of the GOP, and Donald Trump’s role in the Republican Party on ‘Varney & Co.’
Republican Govs. Ron DeSantis of Florida and Brian Kemp of Georgia both won their re-election bids Tuesday evening, receiving major support among voters concerned about rising food and gas prices, according to Fox News Voter Analysis data.
The Fox News Voter Analysis survey showed 54% of Florida voters who said inflation factored into their voting decision identified the cost of groceries and food as "most important." Of those who pegged grocery and food prices as their top issue, 62% backed DeSantis.
Similarly, a majority of Georgia voters (53%) whose vote was influenced to some extent by inflation said food costs were the "most important" factor, according to the survey data. About 63% of those indicated they supported Kemp in the state’s gubernatorial race.
Americans went to the polls on Tuesday. (iStock / iStock)
Overall food prices as measured by the Consumer Price Index (CPI) have been hovering at painfully high levels, rising 0.7% month-over-month and 11.2% year-over-year in September.
The cost of groceries increased 0.6% from the prior month and 13% from the prior year, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Meanwhile, food away from home also saw monthly and annual increases, climbing 0.9% and 8.5%, respectively.
Shoppers inside a grocery store in San Francisco, California, U.S., on Monday, May 2, 2022. U.S. inflation-adjusted consumer spending rose in March despite intense price pressures, indicating households still have solid appetites and wherewithal for … (David Paul Morris/Bloomberg via Getty Images / Getty Images)
Gas and other transportation costs were also important to Floridians and Georgians casting their ballots in the gubernatorial races, coming in second among top inflation issues.
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In the Sunshine State, 13% indicated gas or other transportation costs were "most important" when they said "inflation increasing prices" was a factor in how they voted, according to the Fox News Voter Analysis data. Of that group, DeSantis got backing from 76% of them.
In Georgia, around 13% pointed to gas prices as "most important," the survey found. Nearly two-thirds (63%) of those respondents supported Kemp.
A driver pumps gas into their vehicle at a Gulf gas station, which is selling regular gas at $4.09 a gallon, in Lynnfield, Massachusetts, on July 19, 2022. (JOSEPH PREZIOSO/AFP via Getty Images / Getty Images)
While gasoline prices did, according to CPI data, fall nearly 5% from August to September, they have soared 18.2% year-over-year.
According to AAA, the national average price for regular-grade gasoline was $3.805 as of Wednesday afternoon, down from $3.910 a month ago but up from $3.419 a year ago. Regular, unleaded gas prices reached a national average of $5.016 in mid-June, a record high, the association said.
GAS PRICES TO REMAIN HIGH POST MIDTERMS
On Tuesday, Kemp defeated Democrat Stacey Abrams to retain his governorship, receiving roughly 53.44% of the vote compared to her 45.85%, according to election data from the Georgia Secretary of State's Office.
DeSantis, meanwhile, beat Charlie Crist in Florida's gubernatorial race.
The full methodology for the Fox News Voter Analysis can be found here.