Inflation Is the GOP’s Problem Now. Will Voters Look Past It?

Inflation may have sunk the Democratic Party at the ballot box in 2024. But high prices at the grocery store and the gas station are now a problem for the GOP. According to the Labor Department, consumer prices in April saw their biggest year-over-year jump in three years and gasoline prices were up 28% from a year earlier. For our special What’s News series The Cost-of-Living Election, WSJ national politics reporter Sabrina Siddiqui met with voters and congressional candidates in and around Allentown, Pa., to uncover what stubborn inflation could mean for the area’s primary election this Tuesday. She then speaks with the sitting congressman for Pennsylvania’s 7th congressional district, Republican Rep. Ryan Mackenzie, about what he’s doing to address the rising cost of living. Relevant links: Tariffs’ Messy Reality: The Cost-of-Living Election | Part 1: Ohio Inflation Soared to 3.8% in April, Driven by Gasoline Prices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

You can listen to Inflation Is the GOP’s Problem Now. Will Voters Look Past It? online on Radio and Podcast. Open the player on this page to stream the available audio.

Inflation Is the GOP’s Problem Now. Will Voters Look Past It? is an episode from WSJ What’s News by The Wall Street Journal.

This episode is 19:33 long.

This episode was published on May 17, 2026.

Yes. Use the heart button on the episode page to add it to your favorite episodes list.

Yes. This page shows related episodes from WSJ What’s News when more episodes are available from the podcast feed.