Thirty-nine percent (39%) of voters say their personal finances are good or excellent, the lowest rating since June 9th. That number was holding steady at 41% throughout July and into the first week of August. Meanwhile, 22% say their personal finances are Poor, up 2 points from last week but the same as a month ago. Just over half (52%) of Republicans say their personal finances are Good or Excellent, while nearly 9 in 10 Democrats (85%) say they are Poor.
The Republican majority is heavily influenced by voters who support policies like President Trump. Sixty-five percent (65%) of voters who support such policies report Good or Excellent finances, compared to just 29% of Traditional GOP voters.
Historical Context
When Joe Biden took office in 2021, 48% of voters viewed their personal finances as Good or Excellent. By the time Trump took office in 2024, that number had fallen to 36%. The fact that number has improved just 3 points as we approach the midterms is something voters are not happy about, as their ratings of
Trump's handling of the economy show.
The Trend
As Scott Rasmussen has noted repeatedly, the trend on personal finances is the single most important number for any election.
Overall, 29% of voters say their personal finances are getting better, up 4 points from last week and 2 points from a month ago. Conversely, 38% say their finance are getting getting worse, up a point from both 2 weeks and a month ago.
As it stands, Republicans may be out of time. It takes an average of 6 months for good economic news to affect voter confidence, and with the midterm elections in November, there simply may not be enough time to heal the damage.
Still, any improvement in economic confidence, particularly among personal finances, will aid the GOP heading into the midterms.
Demographic Insights
Income: Forty-two percent (42%) of voters making more than $150,000 per year report improving finances, compared to just 11% of voters making less than $35,000 per year.
Political Party: As the party in power, Republicans are also more optimistic about their finances; they say their finances are getting better by a margin of 43% to 23%. Democrats, however, report worsening finances by a margin of 51% to 18%.
This data is from a Napolitan News Service survey of 1,000 Registered Voters conducted online by Scott Rasmussen, August 17-18, 2026. RMG Research, Inc., conducted the field work for the survey. It has a margin of error of +/- 3.1.
