October 16, 2024– Boston, MA– A new survey from the National Parents Union (NPU) reveals that parents of school-aged children overwhelmingly support several economic policy solutions that Vice President Kamala Harris has introduced. However, more than half (52%) say Harris must share more information about her positions on the economy, raising questions about whether her campaign has effectively communicated them to this voting bloc. Slightly less than half of the respondents (47%) believe Trump must do the same.
The survey presented a series of blind economic positions that the candidates have recently supported, but in order to avoid any bias, respondents were not told which candidate supported which policy. Post-survey, when the positions are matched with a candidate, the data shows stronger support for Harris’s economic policy solutions compared to Trump.
| Harris | Trump | Harris & Trump |
|---|---|---|
| Enacting a federal law that aims to prevent food suppliers and grocery stores from price gouging (86%) | Eliminating taxes on Social Security benefits, so that benefits received are not treated as a source of taxable income (82%) | Increasing the Child Tax Credit (86%) |
| Capping the cost of out-of-pocket spending on prescription medications at $2,000 per year (83%) | Extending the tax cuts that were enacted in 2017 through the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (69%) | Exempting tip income from federal income taxes (76%) |
| Providing a $50,000 tax benefit for small business startups in the U.S. (80%) | Imposing minimum tariffs of 10%–20% on all goods imported from other countries (60%) | |
| Providing up to $25,000 in down payment support for first-time home buyers (74%) | Imposing a 60% tariff on goods imported from China (55%) |
“This race is going to come down to which candidate makes the best closing argument about the economy, and our poll shows Harris has the inside track if she can communicate her solutions more effectively,” said Keri Rodrigues, President of the National Parents Union. “Parents connect with her ideas on how to alleviate the burden of inflation, encourage first-time home buyers, and tap into Americans’ entrepreneurial spirit , but that’s only useful for Vice President Harris’s campaign if voters understand these are her positions. If I was drafting her stump speech, I’d relentlessly hammer home these economic messages without any distraction.”
Overall, the race is essentially tied among parents (Trump 48% v. Harris 47%), and the economy is far and away the most important issue for this demographic. Rising costs for groceries, wages not keeping pace with inflation, and housing prices dominate parents’ worries, and eight-in-ten believe the election will have a major impact on the U.S. economy.
Additionally, from a party perspective, parents trust Republicans more than Democrats on the issue of the economy (50% vs. 42%).
National Parents Union Survey
N=1,515 with a base sample of 1,007 registered voters nationwide in the likely electorate and an additional oversample of 508 voters who are parents of K-12 students (achieving a total of 752 K-12 parents)
Field Dates: October 1-7, 2024
Margin of sampling error: ± 3.6 percentage points
Click here for toplines.
ABOUT THE NATIONAL PARENTS UNION
With more than 1,800 affiliated parent organizations in all 50 states, Washington, D.C. and Puerto Rico, the National Parents Union is the united, independent voice of modern American families. We channel the power of parents into powerful policies that improve the lives of children, families and communities across the United States. https://nationalparentsunion.org/