The 2022 midterm elections, perhaps more than most in recent American history, present voters with a multitude of pressing issues to consider as they prepare to vote. These issues range from abortion to rising inflation, energy costs to the state of American democracy.
Given the attention to domestic issues, it’s surprising, then, that a foreign policy issue also ranked among the top – U.S. aid to Ukraine – as our latest University of Maryland Critical Issues Poll showed.

Partisanship often overshadows specific issues and, while Americans are not electing a president in 2022, some perceive the midterms nonetheless as referendums on President Joe Biden or former President Donald Trump.

As midterm elections near, the poll we conducted Oct. 7-10, 2022, explores how potential voters rank these issues and offers insights into the effects they have on the American populace.