A new POLITICO/Public First survey reports that Trump supporters would accept about a $65 monthly tax increase to support a bill endorsed by President Donald Trump, while 2024 Harris voters would forgo roughly $33 in monthly tax savings to oppose him.
The POLITICO/Public First poll examined how partisan cues interact with pocketbook considerations in voters’ evaluations of hypothetical legislation. According to POLITICO, the online survey of 2,051 U.S. adults was conducted October 18–21, 2025, with results weighted by age, race, gender, geography and education. POLITICO reports an overall margin of sampling error of ±2.2 percentage points.
In an experiment embedded in the survey, respondents compared pairs of hypothetical bills that varied by personal income tax effects, the number of jobs created or lost in their state, changes in the price of a dozen eggs, and whether Trump, Republican lawmakers or Democratic lawmakers were said to support the bill. POLITICO reports that the median Trump voter chose a bill that cost them about $65 more per month in taxes when it carried Trump’s endorsement over an alternative that saved them money without his backing.
The same experiment found that Trump supporters would tolerate up to roughly 2,000 lost jobs in their state or about a $1.14 increase in the price of a dozen eggs for a Trump‑backed bill. POLITICO also reports that a Republican‑lawmaker endorsement alone moved the median Trump voter to accept about a $27 monthly tax increase, while Democratic lawmakers’ positions had no statistically meaningful effect on those voters.
By contrast, POLITICO reports that the median 2024 Harris voter would only back a Trump‑endorsed bill if it reduced their taxes by at least about $33 a month. These voters were willing to forgo more than 1,000 new jobs in their state or a 40‑cent drop in egg prices to oppose a Trump‑backed bill. For bills endorsed by Democrats, the median Harris voter accepted about a $61 monthly tax increase relative to otherwise similar options without Democratic backing.
Seb Wride of Public First, which partnered with POLITICO on the survey, said the experiment was designed to strip away policy substance and isolate how partisan endorsements offset quantifiable costs such as taxes and prices, according to POLITICO. Wride is Public First’s director of polling, per the firm’s website. (publicfirst.co.uk)
The findings underscore how partisan identity can outweigh short‑term economic self‑interest when voters weigh legislation. They also arrive after Democrats posted notable off‑year gains on November 4, 2025, including flipping Virginia’s governorship and winning New Jersey’s, in contests where affordability and cost‑of‑living concerns loomed large, according to multiple news reports. (washingtonpost.com)