GRASSROOTS INTELLIGENCE REPORT
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Americans for Prosperity has one of the largest grassroots operations in the country. AFP speaks to hundreds of thousands of voters in person, in their communities, all across America.
Americans Unscripted is what we’re hearing. Each month we report on what’s actually top of mind for voters, drawn straight from those conversations. This edition reflects 42,844 of them, gathered across seven states in July 2026.
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INFLATION (AND HOW TO REDUCE IT) IS THE TOP ISSUE FOR MOST AMERICANS.
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Donald, from Londonderry, New Hampshire told it straight to an AFP volunteer:
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“My grocery bill is up to $300 a week feeding my teenagers.”
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In June, more than half (51.7%) of the voters we spoke to named the cost of living as their top concern. In July, we went back out and heard more of the same. Of the conversations in which someone named a specific issue, 56.2% pointed to the economy and inflation.
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Why it matters: Thousands of voters are saying that affordability is their top concern, and no other issue even comes close. What’s contested isn’t if inflation is a problem; it’s who has a credible solution to it. That argument is now at the center of American politics.
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WHAT’S THE RIGHT PATH TO MAKING AMERICA MORE AFFORDABLE?
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It depends on who you ask. One side is offering more government as the answer to prices that government helped raise in the first place. Americans are rightly skeptical of that proposition.
Patrick, of Auburn Hills, MI told us, "I'm very concerned about democratic socialists and how far their principles are from our founding fathers."
In AFP’s national affordability survey earlier this year, 73% of voters said government actions contribute to higher consumer prices, and 61% said the federal government makes their lives harder rather than easier1. Add to that, Gallup’s newest research finds 81% of Americans view free enterprise favorably — far ahead of the 39% who say the same of socialism2.
What many Americans want to see is what AFP’s been arguing for all year: remove the barriers, unlock supply, let competition bring prices down. Freedom and opportunity are the right way to affordability.
We’re not done listening. In the months ahead, Americans Unscripted will report not just on what voters say is wrong, but on who they trust to fix it and what kind of solutions they’re willing to back.
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1 AFP national survey, conducted by Public Opinion Strategies, Feb. 10-15, 2026; 1,500 registered voters
2 Gallup, “How Americans View Capitalism, Socialism and Free Enterprise,” Aug. 6, 2026.
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MORE VOTERS NAMED THE COST OF LIVING THAN EVERY OTHER ISSUE COMBINED.
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Immigration, energy, healthcare, government accountability, crime, education, national security. Stack all seven together, and they still come up short of the economy on its own.
Question asked: What issue matters most to you right now as you think about [your state's] future?
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HOW AFFORDABILITY RANKS, STATE BY STATE
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Affordability leads everywhere we canvassed, but not evenly. Here’s how the seven states stack up against each other.
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In June, Montana was just below the field (47.4% named affordability, against a seven-state average of 51.7%). In July it jumped to 61.7%, clearing the seven-state average of 56.2%.
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4201 Wilson Blvd., Arlington, VA 22203 United States
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Americans Unscripted reflects in-person conversations with voters conducted by AFP staff and volunteers across battleground states. It is not a scientific poll.
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© 2026 AMERICANS FOR PROSPERITY. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. | PRIVACY POLICY
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