The economy is not the most pressing issue for a majority of voters for the first time this year, according to a new poll.
Nearly a quarter of respondents in the Quinnipiac University national poll released Thursday ranked preserving democracy in the U.S. as the nation’s most urgent issue, while 19 percent said the economy is their top concern.
About 18 percent said immigration is the most significant issue and 15 percent said international conflicts. Five other issues that Quinnipiac polled — climate change, health care, abortion, racial inequality and crime — did not reach double digits.
Quinnipiac’s polling analysts noted that the economy topped the list in its polls released Jan. 29 and March 13.
About 24 percent of Republicans said the economy is their top issue of concern, second to immigration at 36 percent. Just 7 percent of Republicans said that preserving democracy is their biggest concern, but it was the most pressing issue by far for Democrats (41 percent) and independents (26 percent).
The economy ranked second among Democrats and independents. Immigration ranked fourth for both of those voting blocs, behind international conflicts.
The new findings come after millions of people across the country took part in “No Kings” protests against President Trump’s policies on June 14, which was both Trump’s 79th birthday and the U.S. Army’s 250th anniversary. Trump presided over a military parade in Washington, D.C., to mark the occasion and dismissed the demonstrators’ message, saying he doesn’t “feel like a king.”
Trump campaigned heavily on economic issues last year, promising to settle inflation and other factors driving up the cost of living.
Inflation under Trump has remained relatively low at just over 2 percent in recent months, however, his tariff agenda has shaken markets and created uncertainty around the U.S. economic outlook. The president has urged the Federal Reserve to cut interest rates, but chair Jerome Powell has resisted those calls from Trump and others.
“If we make a mistake here, people will pay the cost for a long time,” Powell said on Wednesday.
Quinnipiac’s latest poll found 39 percent of respondents approve of Trump’s handling of the economy, while 56 percent disapprove. Six percent of respondents had no opinion.
The Quinnipiac poll surveyed 979 registered voters Saturday through Monday and has a margin of error of 3.1 percentage points.