Foreign affairs has skyrocketed from 36% to 51% as a top issue that will influence how people vote in November’s presidential election, according to data released Tuesday by Morning Consult during an event on voter trends. “It’s striking to see how high foreign affairs is this time around,” said Eli Yokley, political analyst. “Ukraine and Israel are top-of-mind issues for four in 10 voters.” Between October 2023 and March 2024, the war in Ukraine increased from 33% to 41% as a top issue on voters’ minds. However, the Morning Consult analyst said the conflict between Israel and Hamas will have more sway, with the potential to drive enthusiasm among the Democratic base, particularly younger voters. “Young voters are going to be a big problem for the president if they decide to show up on Election Day and vote for Trump,” Yokley said, citing recent protests on college campuses over Biden’s handling of Israel. “If they don’t turn out and they don’t support anybody, that gives Biden an opening for reelection given how strong he is with older voters,” he continued. “His campaign is taking this very seriously.” The prominence of foreign policy, traditionally less important in U.S. elections than the economy or social issues, has been amplified by congressional approval of a $95.3 billion aid package for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan that President Joe Biden signed into law Tuesday. “Foreign affairs is getting an outsized amount of media coverage,” said analyst Cameron Easley, noting that the historically important economic outlook will play a diminished role in this election. “Over the last three cycles, we’ve seen attitudes about the state of the economy have become less correlated with the outcome,” he explained. “There’s a clear argument to be made that while the economy still matters, because of increased partisan sorting, it matters less than it used to.” Easley noted that there have also been significant increases in concern about immigration, which rose from 50% to 65%, and even national security, which went from 62% to 71%. The analysts emphasized that perceptions of the candidates’ traits and their ability to address these issues are tied to how important voters say these issues are. In Biden’s case, a strong performance in his State of the Union address has improved perceptions. While voters still see him as too old, at 81, that number has declined (from 70% to 67%), and views of his good health have improved (from 36% to 39%). Trump, meanwhile, has seen modest improvements in views of his leadership ability (from 51% to 53%), mental acuity (48% to 49%) and even honesty (41% to 42%), despite ongoing criminal investigations. “This election is going to be crime versus senility,” Yokley summarized. “It’s about whether people think Trump is too criminal or Biden is too old.” The analyst said the outcome will be decided in the margins, but that for the broader electorate, personality traits will be decisive. Also Read: Kyiv usa armas de longo alcance enviadas secretamente pelos EUA (Portuguese version)