Bertha Orman of Rockville, Maryland, says managing the rising cost of living has become an everyday strain. Gas near her home runs $4.29 a gallon, she says, and she was in California the previous week, where gas was $7 a gallon. For a small working family, she says, prices have simply gotten out of control.
Orman’s account is one of three Maryland and D.C.-area voices featured in a report from WTOP News examining how affordability concerns are shaping attitudes ahead of the 2026 midterm elections. Orman told the outlet that higher prices have forced her to give up eating out and other extras, and that she’s saving more just to keep up. Tori Whitlock, who lives in Laurel, Maryland, said raises she’s received have been offset by higher costs for the same expenses, and that rising electric and water bills worry her in addition to grocery prices. Karen Lee, who lives on Capitol Hill, said she now avoids driving her car because of gas costs, and that she and other retired senior citizens have had to tighten their belts.
William Galston, a senior fellow in governance studies at the Brookings Institution, told WTOP that the experiences of the three women help explain why affordability could play a major role in the midterms. People understand the economy through their personal experiences, Galston said, and that hardship can outweigh positive messaging from political leaders — a dynamic he said has made it difficult for both Donald Trump and Joe Biden to convince Americans the economy is performing well when voters’ own experiences suggest otherwise.
The Numbers Behind the Squeeze
The anecdotes track with broader concerns about affordability. Inflation and wage growth are part of the national economic picture.
Housing has grown further out of reach too. The median price of an existing home was $417,500 in September, according to CNBC. Nearly half of all renter households — 22.7 million in 2024 — spent more than 30% of their income on rent and utilities, CNBC reported, and the median age of first-time homebuyers is 40.
Mixed Signals From the Broader Economy
National indicators present a complicated picture. U.S. GDP grew at an annual rate of 3.4% from July through September, up from 2.2% the prior quarter, according to NPR. But prices rose 3.6% in September from a year earlier, well above the Federal Reserve’s 2% target, and the personal saving rate fell to 3.8% in September from 4.1% in August. NPR reported that wage growth has fallen behind inflation and that lower-income Americans have struggled more than high earners as spending gains have not been evenly distributed.
Gas prices add to the pressure locally. AAA lists the current average price in the District of Columbia at $4.2824 per gallon. A CNBC All-America Economic Survey of 1,000 registered voters, conducted October 14-18 with a margin of error of plus or minus 3.1 percentage points, found government corruption as the top concern at 36%, followed by food and grocery costs at 34%, with gas prices and protecting democracy tied at 23% each and housing costs at 15%.
Why Republicans Face a Particular Test
Galston told WTOP that Republicans face a particular challenge heading into November because they control the White House and both chambers of Congress, leaving them with no one else to blame when voters are frustrated. He pointed to economic pressures on farmers as a factor making Senate races more competitive in Iowa, Kansas and Nebraska — states Trump won by double digits in 2024. Farmers face expenses including fuel, fertilizer and interest rates that cannot be postponed, Galston said, and must keep operating equipment regardless of those costs, with farm-related expenses capable of moving through the food supply chain and affecting grocery prices broadly.
Galston also argued that Trump administration trade policies affect communities well beyond farming, saying most Americans believe tariffs raise consumer prices — a view he said a Federal Reserve Board report supported. He further argued that the administration’s immigration enforcement has worsened labor shortages in sectors including construction, contributing to housing supply constraints, while Midwestern meatpacking plants struggle to find workers. Rural Americans also drive longer distances than urban residents, compounding the effect of gas prices, he noted. Housing supply is short relative to demand, Galston said, and that imbalance is pushing prices higher.
Echoes Beyond the Beltway
Similar dynamics are playing out elsewhere. In Maine, the Guardian reports that heating oil now exceeds $6 a gallon, a record high, while lobster fisher Christian LaMontagne said his weekly fuel cost nearly doubled from about $350 to nearly $700 after the war with Iran began in late February — meaning he now needs to catch more than twice as many lobsters just to fill his tank. A recent Marist poll cited by the Guardian found only 42% of likely Maine voters approved of Trump’s job performance, with the state’s closely watched Senate race between Republican incumbent Susan Collins and Democrat Troy Jackson described as neck and neck heading into Tuesday’s election.
Galston summed up the stakes simply, telling WTOP that pocketbook issues will come first for the vast majority of voters — an echo, the outlet noted, of the phrase “it’s the economy, stupid,” coined by James Carville during Bill Clinton’s 1992 presidential campaign. For Orman, Whitlock and Lee, that framing matches daily life rather than campaign rhetoric: Orman has cut out eating out, Whitlock worries about rising water and electric bills, and Lee avoids driving because of gas costs.
