Healthcare Costs Top Priority for Georgia Voters as Midterms Near, Poll Shows
New KFF poll reveals 61% of voters say rising healthcare costs will significantly impact their choices in November’s midterm elections.
ATLANTA, GEORGIA — Rising healthcare costs will significantly influence how Georgia voters choose candidates in November’s midterm elections, with 61% of respondents saying the issue will have a major impact on their voting decisions, according to a new poll released Wednesday by KFF.
The survey found that healthcare costs rank as the most pressing health-related concern for voters across party lines, surpassing vaccine policy and food safety issues as the 2026 midterm elections approach with control of Congress at stake.
Party Breakdown Shows Bipartisan Concern
Democratic voters showed the strongest concern about healthcare costs, with 72% saying the issue will have a major impact on their candidate selection. Independent voters followed at 63%, while 47% of Republican voters indicated healthcare costs will significantly influence their choices.
“While the issue of health costs is more salient for Democratic voters than for Republicans, larger shares across partisans say health costs will have a major impact on their voting decisions than say the same about vaccine policy or food safety,” the survey found.
Vaccine policy ranked as the second most influential health issue, with 57% of Democrats, 46% of independents and 32% of Republicans saying it will have a major impact on their voting decisions.
MAHA Movement Priorities
Among voters aligned with the Make America Healthy Again movement, which includes predominantly Republicans along with some independents and Democrats, 42% identified healthcare costs as their top priority heading into the elections.
The MAHA voter priorities showed healthcare costs leading by a significant margin, with twice as many listing it as their first concern compared to the next issue. Restricting chemical additives in food ranked second among MAHA voters at 21%.
Other MAHA priorities included reevaluating vaccine approvals at 10%, limiting corporate interest in food at 8%, and restricting pesticide use in agriculture at 8%. Eleven percent of MAHA respondents either had no answer or said none of the issues were priorities.
Food Safety Ranks Third
Food safety issues rounded out the top three health concerns influencing voter choices. The poll found that 43% of Democrats, 40% of independents and 38% of Republicans said food safety will have a major impact on their candidate selection.
The KFF survey highlights how health-related issues have become central to voter decision-making as candidates prepare for the November midterm elections. The findings suggest that politicians addressing healthcare affordability may find receptive audiences across partisan divides.
Georgia voters will join millions of Americans nationwide in determining which party controls Congress when they head to the polls this fall, with healthcare costs emerging as a unifying concern that transcends traditional political boundaries.
