'Secret weapon': GOP's biggest Achilles' heel flagged by CNN data guru
Democrats hold a "secret weapon" heading into this fall's midterm elections, according to CNN's Harry Enten.
Health care costs have surged past gas prices, food and housing to become Americans' single biggest financial concern, Enten said, and Democrats hold a decisive advantage over Republicans on that topic.
"This, to me, is the Democrats' secret weapon," he said.
According to Enten's analysis of polling data, 22 percent of Americans cite healthcare as their primary financial worry, well ahead of food at 18 percent, housing at 14 percent and gas prices at just 8 percent, and highlighted the finding as particularly notable given the outsized media attention typically paid to gas prices in affordability discussions.
The numbers get worse for the Trump administration from there, Enten said. Its net approval rating on healthcare costs sits 36 points underwater, with disapproval far outpacing approval. Among independents — a group already showing signs of frustration with the administration — that gap widens dramatically to 50 points underwater, a figure Enten called striking.
"So you see, you know Trump really struggling here, but here, even with the obvious, there's an interesting little nugget going on here," he said.
Enten pointed to a substantial Democratic advantage in trust on the issue. Democrats currently hold a 21-point edge over Republicans on health care, he noted — larger than the 17-point advantage they held in 2018, when health care-driven momentum helped the party secure a net gain of 40 House seats during Trump's first midterm cycle.
Much of the current frustration traces back to early 2026, when enhanced Affordable Care Act subsidies that millions of Americans relied on were not extended, according to Enten. Prediction markets have grown increasingly pessimistic about a reversal: Enten noted that betting markets gave a 43 percent chance in January that the subsidies would eventually be extended, but that figure has since collapsed to just 7 percent.
Taken together, Enten argued, the data — high public anxiety over health care costs, the administration's weak approval numbers, and Democrats' growing trust advantage — closely resemble the conditions that fueled the party's strong performance in 2018.
"It will be interesting to see if Democrats really try to re-engage with that issue," Enten said. "They absolutely should be running on health care. It is a big win for them."
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