Where the candidates stand: The Economy

He may have coined the phrase more than three decades ago, but political consultant James Carville’s “It’s the economy, stupid” still applies to political races all across the country – and that’s clearly the case this election cycle. 

Polling in Pennsylvania shows that voters’ chief concern is the economy. A Muhlenberg College poll that surveyed voters in the state’s 7th Congressional District found that economic issues, including inflation, were the most important issue to voters in that district, with 29% listing it as their top issue. Similarly, a Pennsylvania poll released by The New York Times, The Philadelphia Inquirer and Siena College found that the economy was the top issue for respondents, with 22% identifying it as the driving issue in the race.

With the Nov. 5 general election getting closer by the day, City & State has put together a guide to where candidates up and down the ballot stand on all things economics.

The presidential race

Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump have each made economic policy a keystone of their campaign messaging in 2024. 

Speaking at the Economic Club of Pittsburgh in late September, Harris laid out her economic agenda to create what she calls an “opportunity economy” in the U.S. – a plan that calls for a mix of expanded tax credits and deductions, investments in major industries like energy, technology and science, as well as a slashing of red tape and regulations to promote business growth. 

“I believe we have an extraordinary opportunity to make our middle class the engine of America’s prosperity, to build a stronger economy where everyone everywhere has a chance to pursue their dreams and aspirations, and to ensure that the United States of America continues to out-innovate and out-compete the world,” Harris said during her visit to Pittsburgh.

Harris allies and surrogates have reiterated her commitment to addressing cost-of-living concerns felt by Americans. 

During a campaign rally in York, Pennsylvania in early October, Harris’ running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, touted many of Harris’ economic proposals, including $25,000 in down-payment assistance for first-time homebuyers, expanding the federal Child Tax Credit and increasing the cap on startup-expense tax deductions for new businesses from $5,000 to $50,000.

“The story that needs to be told – and you see it – she did it by reaching across the aisle to find solutions. That matters; it matters,” Walz told rallygoers in York. 

The economic platform from Harris helped create some daylight between her campaign and President Joe Biden’s administration at a time when her opponent is routinely looking to link her to economic anxieties felt during the current presidential administration – in which she serves.

On the campaign trail, Trump has focused heavily on the economy, as well as immigration, which he often links to economic anxieties. 

Trump also supports expanding the federal Child Tax Credit and has stated his desire to eliminate taxes on tips and Social Security, impose tariffs of up to 20% on all imported goods and renew the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, which made adjustments to income-tax rates and raised the standard deduction.

Trump has proposed a universal tariff of between 10% and 20% on imported goods, according to the nonpartisan Tax Policy Center, and defended his position on tariffs during an Oct. 15 interview with Bloomberg News at the Economic Club of Chicago.

“There’s two ways of looking at a tariff. You can do it as a money-making instrument, or you can do it as something to get the companies (to move into the United States). Now, if you want the companies to come in, the tariff has to be a lot higher than 10% because 10% is not enough,” Trump said. 

The Tax Policy Center estimates that a universal 10% tariff and a 60% tariff on Chinese goods would lower the after-tax income of U.S. Households by approximately $1,800 in 2025, while also reducing imports into the U.S. 

The U.S. Senate race

In a Senate race that may ultimately decide party control of the U.S. Senate, Democratic incumbent Bob Casey and Republican challenger Dave McCormick have made economic issues and the cost of living focal points of their battle. 

Casey, who has often used the term “greedflation” – a business practice of taking advantage of market demand by excessively increasing prices – about inflation, has pinned higher prices and cost of living issues on corporations and executives squeezing consumers dry. 

“These big conglomerates, these big corporations, rig those prices and jack them up to levels we’ve never seen, all while they’re getting record profit,” Casey said at the Oct. 4 debate. 

McCormick, on the other hand, claims that Casey and Democrats’ spending at the federal level has caused inflation and rising prices. At the same debate, McCormick said greedflation is a “hammer looking for a nail. The cause of inflation is… the out-of-control spending of Biden-Harris.” 

Casey has pitched expanding the federal Child Tax Credit and Earned Income Tax Credit to assist working families. McCormick has vowed to eliminate wasteful government spending and red tape to improve business operations and bring jobs to the state. 

1st Congressional District

In Bucks and Montgomery counties, the race between incumbent Republican Brian Fitzpatrick and Democratic challenger Ashley Ehasz is a rematch of the 2022 race, where Fitzpatrick beat Ehasz by less than 10%. 

While much of the campaign has been centered around abortion rights, economic issues continue to be a major talking point for both candidates. Ehasz, who was raised by a single mother and in a family that often struggled to afford rent and groceries, has said her life “has been defined by extreme lack of resources.”

Ehasz has attacked Fitzpatrick for not running an active campaign and not agreeing to a debate. She’s expressed support for raising the minimum wage, and for universal preschool and affordable child care for all. At the same time, Fitzpatrick has said he will continue to support economic measures that put American workers and businesses first and drive down the costs of health care and prescription drugs. 

7th Congressional District 

In arguably the most high-stakes congressional matchup in the commonwealth, Democratic incumbent Susan Wild is seeking to hold off yet another challenger to earn a fourth term in Congress, this time against Republican state Rep. Ryan Mackenzie. 

A recent poll conducted in the Lehigh Valley district – which includes Carbon, Lehigh and Northampton counties, plus a sliver of Monroe County – found that the economy, including inflation, stands out as the most important issue, with 29% of voters identifying it as such.

Many view the district not only as a microcosm of the nation – with a mix of urban, suburban and rural areas with a growing, diverse population – but as a key indicator of where undecided voters are leaning this election cycle. And while both candidates have touched on immigration issues when addressing Latino communities, each recognized the importance of the cost of living for the voting bloc as well. 

Mackenzie has said government spending has driven up inflation and that promoting American manufacturing and its energy sector is critical to helping the American economy compete globally. Wild has also said supporting the region’s manufacturing sector is crucial and that she supports the effort to fight “shrinkflation” – the practice of reducing the amount contained in a product while keeping that product’s price the same – to hold corporations accountable and protect consumers from price-gouging practices.

8th Congressional District

Considered one of the more moderate Democrats in Congress, Matt Cartwright is attempting to yet again hold off a conservative challenger for a sixth term representing the northeastern part of the state. After narrowly defeating Jim Bognet in the past two elections, Cartwright is now facing Rob Bresnahan, businessman and community philanthropist.

Both candidates have expressed similar views on immigration and union labor, but there are some differences in economic stances. Bresnahan has shown support for targeted affordable housing projects, while Cartwright has suggested housing might best be handled by the private sector. 

Additionally, Cartwright has supported efforts to pass anti-price gouging legislation and touted his support for the Inflation Reduction Act and initiatives to lower prescription drug costs. Bresnahan, to the contrary, has mentioned similar messaging to most Republicans, arguing that reckless spending and taxation are the cause of the cost-of-living issues many families are facing. 

10th Congressional District 

The economy has also taken center stage in the race for Pennsylvania’s 7th Congressional District, which features a competitive battle between U.S. Rep. Scott Perry and his Democratic opponent, former television anchor Janelle Stelson.

Perry, per his campaign website, supports a balanced budget amendment to the U.S. Constitution, slashing government regulations and lowering taxes on both families and businesses. 

During an Oct. 8 debate with Stelson, Perry focused on the high cost of living and looked to make the case that he would help bring down prices if elected to another term. “The cost of living – it's plaguing every single person across this district, and I hear about it at the gas station, at the grocery store. People are buying their food with credit cards. They can't afford their electricity bills,” he said, while also touting his support for the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, a 2017 tax cut bill backed by former President Donald Trump. 

“I voted for the largest tax cut in history, giving people in this district and across the country, in Pennsylvania, more money in their pocket,” Perry said. According to the Tax Foundation, the legislation lowered most individual income-tax rates, while also increasing the standard deduction.

Stelson, speaking in the October debate, said more should be done to raise wages, noting that Pennsylvania’s $7.25 minimum wage, which is set in state law, is too low. 

She also expressed a desire to address price gouging if she is elected to Congress, referencing the “greedflation” terminology that has become a common refrain of U.S. Sen. Bob Casey. 

“Greedflation is real – the inflated prices at grocery stores and at the gas tanks. There’s some price gouging going on when you have some of the biggest corporations involved in groceries and gas making record profits. That’s a real problem,” she said. “But my opponent voted against price gouging (legislation) as well. This is just not the way I’m going to vote in Congress. I’m going to vote to help us, not hurt us.”

17th Congressional District

Democratic U.S. Rep. Chris Deluzio is hoping that voters will reelect him to another term in the 17th Congressional District, and part of his pitch to voters has been his support for expanding domestic manufacturing in the United States. Deluzio partnered with U.S. Sen. John Fetterman on a “Make Stuff Here” legislative agenda that is centered around making more goods in the U.S. According to WESA, a western Pennsylvania radio station, the “Make Stuff Here” agenda calls for tariffs on countries that lack free-market economies like China and Russia, incentivizing the use of union-made domestic steel and creating tax incentives for U.S. businesses that mine rare-earth materials for electronics, among other provisions.

At a press conference announcing the bill package, Deluzio said: “I think the American people are with us. We should take (the nation) down this ‘Make Stuff Here’ path, we should re-juice strength in American manufacturing and grow the union way of life in this country.”

Deluzio also supports the federal PRO Act, which is part of the “Make Stuff Here” agenda and seeks to expand union eligibility and labor protections for U.S. workers. 

Republican State Rep. Rob Mercuri, who is hoping to unseat Deluzio and represent the 17th Congressional District in Washington, said in an interview with the Pennsylvania Cable Network that fiscally conservative policies in Washington will help the nation get a handle on inflation. “The reason that we have inflation – it’s an economics problem. We've spent too much … we've printed too much money at the Fed, and that’s something that Congress does. The Democratic Congress in Joe Biden’s first two years, really spent us into oblivion with inflation, and they pushed so many trillions of new dollars into the economy,” he said. “That really became like Monopoly money. It was flying around, there wasn’t really a good need for it. A lot of that COVID money ended up having to be given back or went to programs that weren’t needed. So there was a lot of wasteful spending happening. That is why we have the inflation that we have.”

Mercuri, according to his campaign website, also supports cutting taxes, promoting more natural gas development in Western Pennsylvania and fully funding Social Security and Medicare.

“Voters really need to take this seriously,” Mercuri said. “Do they want another four years of Biden-Harris overspending and big government overreach, or do they want to turn the page and elect a fiscal, fiscally responsible person like myself to represent District 17 and curtail this kind of overspending?”