As we enter the final stretch of the 2024 election, Vice President Harris and former President Trump are tied across swing states – and new polling shows that the national debt is a critical issue for voters in these decisive states. More than 9-in-10 voters across seven key states — Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin — say it’s important for candidates to have a plan for the debt, including 95% of Harris voters, 97% of Trump voters and 95% of undecided voters.
Additionally, 3-in-4 voters in these battleground states say they want candidates to talk more about the debt and their plans to address it – outpacing the percentages of voters who say the same for other hot button election issues including immigration, abortion, climate change and foreign policy.
Thus far neither candidate has put forward a plan to address or $35 trillion national debt. A recent analysis from the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget estimated that Harris’s campaign plan would increase the debt by $3.50 trillion through 2035, while President Trump’s plan would increase the debt by $7.50 trillion. But there’s still time for candidates to put forward plans, and there are many policy options to choose from.
Further Reading
The U.S. Dollar Is the World’s Reserve Currency. Why Does That Matter?
The country’s unsustainable fiscal outlook threatens to diminish the dollar’s standing, which would have damaging fiscal and economic consequences for the United States.
Delaying Fiscal Reform is Costly, Annual Treasury Report Warns
The Treasury projects that debt as a percentage of GDP will grow to more than five times the size of the U.S. economy in the next 75 years.
Debt vs. Deficits: What’s the Difference?
The words debt and deficit come up frequently in debates about policy decisions. The two concepts are similar, but are often confused.