It's hard to escape discussions about rising prices recently, especially as election season has heated up. Politicians across the ideological spectrum are honing in on the issue as voters express deep frustration with the cost of food, housing, gas, utilities and other items.
Will that frustration translate to voters' choices at the ballot box?
The Bureau of Labor Statistics' Cincinnati Area Economic Summary shows food prices are up about 3% from a year ago in the Greater Cincinnati area, atop jumps in previous years, while gas has gone up more than a dollar per gallon. Overall energy costs, including utilities, are up 16% from this time last year, according to the bureau's data. Rents in Greater Cincinnati are also up about 3% from last year, according to analysis by Zillow, though they've risen faster in recent previous years.
Research from the Georgetown University Center on Poverty and Inequality found that about 25% of Ohioans struggle to afford housing and 31% struggle to afford food.
Homeowners in some areas are also wrangling with significantly higher property taxes over the last few years, an issue that can cause financial anxiety for people with moderate incomes. Taken together, those factors have driven concerns about the overall cost of living.
Statewide polling from Groundwork Ohio, a group advocating for young children, found about 64% of respondents identified affordability as one of two main issues in the coming election. That's borne out in recent interviews WVXU conducted with people across the region.
How voters will apply those concerns — and who they'll choose at the ballot box to address them — varies.
What are potential voters saying?
Mel Evans was leaving a grocery store in Middletown when WVXU spoke with her. Like a lot of people in Butler County, she's staunchly conservative.
She acknowledges she and her husband have noticed prices rising on store shelves and at the pump.
"We're on a limited income," she said. "The groceries — it's affecting us, but we're good at living within our means. And it'll come down; we know he'll bring it down."
The "he" Evans is talking about is President Donald Trump — who came up in almost every conversation about affordability WVXU had with voters about affordability, even though he's not on the ballot this midterm election.
"I'm a Trump supporter," Evans said. "If he was running again, I'd vote for him again. I'm going straight Republican down the line."
Not everyone feels the same.
Matt Mulligan was also at the Middletown Kroger. He describes himself as a "life-long Republican" but says he's having a hard time this year as he mulls how he'll vote.
"I don't know where I'm going to go," he said. "That'll be a decision at the ballot box. Like most Americans, I'm very disappointed with both sides."
Mulligan says he's felt price increases most at the gas pump and believes the war in Iran is a big part of the reason for that, and for higher grocery prices he's seeing because of the rise in diesel fuel used for trucking most goods in America. He's had to cut out much of his entertainment spending and dial back on his food budget, especially when it comes to dining out.
He's weighing those factors and another one as he considers his vote.
"The administration is ridiculous with their corruption," he said, referring to Trump's administration. "And that'd be a big reason to vote Democrat."
'It's all of it, combined into one'
Elsewhere, others felt similarly ambivalent about the upcoming midterm vote. Sharon Jarmon was shopping in downtown Cincinnati recently, trying to stretch her wages as a home health aide enough to make ends meet. Foremost on her mind: rent.
Jarmon says her rent and utilities have gone from about $600 per month to about $1,000 in the past few years. She's also had to skimp on groceries to fill the gap, buying more beans and other cheap proteins and skipping out on meat more often.
"Everything is going up, but your wages aren't," she said. "I feel like that's the problem. It's all of it, combined into one."
Jarmon says she definitely plans to vote in November, but hasn't decided which statewide, congressional and local candidates she'll back.
"I really don't know who to vote for," she said. "If you don't have the power and the money, who is going to help?"
Others WVXU interviewed around downtown Cincinnati — an area that votes heavily Democratic — say they'd cast ballots for Democratic candidates in races for congressional districts and the governor's seat. Some interviewees pointedly blame the current presidential administration for affordability woes, naming the war in Iran and other policies.
Kiera Anderson lives in Price Hill. She says she's cut back on her grocery spending, skipping even the sale steaks and other meat at Kroger.
"Everything is sky-high, rent is going up, everything," she said.
When asked why she thinks things are getting more expensive, Anderson has a quick answer.
"Donald Trump," she said. "He's made everything go sky high with all the wars."
Of course, other potential voters in more conservative areas say the opposite.
'It's better than it was'
Across the river in deep-red Boone County, Kentucky, Mike Botma says he's noticed the price increases.
"For the most part, everything seems to be going up and up and up, and there doesn't seem to be much relief," he said.
He says he's bargain-hunting a bit more, picking up discounted meat that's near its sell-by date. But overall, he says he's navigating OK.
Botma says he thinks dysfunctional politics are part of the reason things are more expensive, but he thinks the Trump administration is doing what it can.
"People not playing nice with each other in Washington," he said when asked why inflation has stayed so high. "I consider myself a Trump supporter. Things haven't gotten too much better, but things haven't gotten too much worse. It's better than what it was."
Botma says he mostly votes Republican — but not exclusively. He doesn't see affordability swaying his vote this time around.
When can you vote?
Early voting is ongoing in Ohio until Nov. 1 ahead of the Nov. 3 election. You can find out more about when polls are open at Ohio's early voting schedule. Polls in Ohio will be open from 6:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. on Election Day.
Kentucky has more limited early voting opportunities, and only for special circumstances. You can find out more at the Kentucky State Board of Elections site. Polls in Kentucky will be open from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m., local time, on Election Day.
Indiana law gives voters 28 days before Election Day to vote early. You can find more information at vote.indy.gov. Polls on Election Day will be open from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m.
More voting information for each state can be found in WVXU's 2026 Midterms Voter Guides.
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