A New York Times/Siena poll released this month found that a majority of Americans trust Democrats to do a better job of handling most issues than their Republican counterparts.

Respondents said they had a higher confidence in Democrats handling the economy, immigration, cost of living, foreign wars, health care, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and the federal deficit. The only issue that Republicans eked out a higher percentage of support on was on artificial intelligence and data centers, and even then, they only led Democrats by two percentage points, within the margin of error. 

Voters expressed the strongest trust in Democrats when it came to health care, with 60 percent of poll respondents supporting Democrats taking the lead on this issue compared to 36 percent supporting Republicans. 

Health care affordability has emerged as a key priority for Democrats across the country in an election cycle shaped by affordability. 

According to a recent KFF Health Tracking Poll, most voters rate health care costs as their top health priority. Another poll found that in nine Senate battleground states, health care affordability remains a top concern for voters. 

The New York Times/Siena poll also found that Americans are more likely to associate corruption with the Republican party than they are with Democrats. 

Only 34 percent of respondents described Democrats as corrupt while 48 percent used the word to describe Republicans. Fourteen percent of respondents answered that both parties were corrupt. 

The September New York Times/Siena poll’s question regarding corruption was not present in a similar poll released in May. This month’s poll also added questions asking Democratic and Republican supporters what their main reasons for wanting their party to control Congress were.

Though both parties’ voters offered answers ranging from their policies and views to opposition to the other party to concern about the state of democracy, Republican supporters also listed fear of socialism or communism in their responses. 

Multiple Democratic socialist candidates have seen historic support this election cycle, including Melat Kiros, a Colorado candidate for the House of Representatives, and Francesca Hong, who narrowly lost the Democratic nomination for governor in Wisconsin.