NEW Arizona Poll Shows Senator Sinema Should Oppose Tax and Spending Bill

Washington is a confusing place most of the time, but this summer’s heat is making things particularly crazy. While officials debate the definition of a recession following two consecutive quarters of negative economic growth, Democratic leadership is working to pass a bill called the Inflation Reduction Act that, according to independent analysis, won’t actually reduce inflation (and may make it worse).

Following a framework agreement between Senator Joe Manchin (D-W.V.) and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), the fate of the dubiously-named tax and spending legislation now likely rests in the hands of centrist Senator Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.). A new poll of Arizona likely-voters should help cut through the noise on whether the Senator should support the controversial proposal.

The statewide poll in Arizona, conducted from July 31st to August 1st, of 500 likely general election voters, shows that a majority of Arizonans believe Senator Sinema should oppose the Democrats’ proposed tax and spending bill.

Over half of respondents, 53 percent, said that “Senator Sinema should oppose any major spending bill that includes tax increases on local employers and family-owned businesses and manufacturers at this time.” A full half of respondents said they’d be less likely to vote for Senator Sinema in 2024 if she supported the bill, compared to just 19 percent who said they’d be more likely to vote for her.

The bill is even underwater with Democrats, with 35 percent saying responding they’d be less likely to voter for Senator Sinema if she supports the bill compared to just 27 percent saying they’d be more likely.

The Inflation Reduction Act isn’t fooling analysts or voters. More than half of those polled (54 percent) believe that a major spending and tax bill would cause inflation to increase. This figure is of particular note given that “Inflation and the cost of living” was the number one issue selected by respondents. Direct economic issues were selected as the number one issue for a full quarter of all respondents. Nearly 60 percent of respondents said this is the worst inflation of their lifetime.

As for the question of whether or not the United States is in a recession (regardless of the technical definition), 59 percent of Arizona voters believe the country is already in a recession according to the poll. In addition, 63 percent of voters said that Congress should not increase taxes during a recession.

The message from Arizona taxpayers could not be clearer for Senator Sinema. Arizonans are feeling the economic pain of inflation and they are confident that new taxes and spending will make matters worse.

Complete poll results and further analysis can be found here.