If you’ve watched any live TV in the last few months, you’ve seen the steady stream of campaign ads focused heavily on affordability, whether it’s utility bills, gas prices, or the cost of groceries. The message reflects voters’ top pain points and has become a central theme for Democratic candidates. When those Democrats take office next January, expect a similar playbook: President Trump as the primary villain, supplemented by new targets, including specific industries and corporate actors.
The Bottom Line Upfront
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Organizations should plan for Washington to look different from the last two years, with Democrats leading oversight and investigations in at least one chamber – and a focus on affordability, corporate influence, perceived favoritism, and industries tied to household cost pressures.
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The messaging that wins with voters now can also protect companies under future scrutiny. Companies need clear messaging that uses plain language, concrete examples, and a visible concern for the people affected by their decisions.
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Now is the time to prepare. Readiness requires a thorough understanding of Democrats’ concerns and the dynamics of a divided Washington, an audit of your organization’s public positioning, and pressure-testing likely lines of attack to land on the strongest messages.
This is where research matters. We've worked for and around Democratic policymakers for long enough to know that instinct alone is insufficient; experience should be tested against current sentiment. So, we commissioned new survey research at Narrative to hear from voters directly. Our team analyzed campaign ads to identify three top affordability issues – tariffs and household costs, grocery costs, and fuel prices – before developing videos of AI-generated CEOs delivering statements on these topics. Voters reacted to these statements from our AI CEOs via dial testing, allowing us to watch, second by second, how they responded to different tones and language choices.
What Democratic Audiences Reward
Democratic audiences responded best to companies that speak plainly, acknowledge real pressure on households, and make concrete commitments to the people they serve. Messaging landed best when CEOs echoed what customers and employees had told them, or voiced a value they shared with voters:
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“Household budgets are stretched to the max. I hear it from our customers, our employees, and my own conversations. People are making hard choices they didn’t have to before. And they expect companies like ours to step up.” (On tariffs)
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“Everyone deserves access to healthy, high-quality, affordable food.” (On groceries) Note: This was the best-testing moment for the Democrats we surveyed across all three issues.
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“No one should sit back and stand by [as prices climb]. That starts with us.” (On fuel prices)
A related takeaway: language that displayed an understanding of voters’ sentiments polled far better. Whenever possible, reach Democrats by grounding arguments in the specific everyday trade-offs families are making, rather than in abstract economic conditions.
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“Our focus is simple – keep products moving, manage costs responsibly, and do our part for the people we serve.” (On tariffs)
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“Affordability shows up in every single shopping trip.” (On groceries)
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“When fuel prices rise, people don’t experience it as a statistic; they feel it in the weekly routine, the commute, the school drop-off, the grocery run, and the family budget.” (On fuel prices)
What Backfires
Democrats recoiled from language that sounded self-serving, overly managed, or detached from everyday costs. “We are getting creative,” and “we absorb as much as we can, so you aren’t paying as much,” resulted in big drops with Democrats.
Shareholder-friendly language often backfired with voters, creating distance instead of connection: “We are getting creative, finding ways to reduce the costs that make their way to you” in the tariffs statement chilled Democratic support. A technically accurate statement can still fail if it sounds defensive, abstract, or disconnected from the lived experience.
How to Prepare
In theory, this shouldn’t be complicated, but for many, putting these findings into practice can be challenging. Understandably, companies want to tout their optimizations, explain their innovative approach, or speak to every audience as if they were shareholders. Instead, here’s where to start:
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Audit your exposure.
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Pressure-test your public language.
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Build messages around people, not process.
Companies face this scrutiny for different reasons – some through alignment with the Trump administration, others simply by operating in an industry Democrats are likely to target. Either way, how they manage their reputation and public statements will matter more than ever if an investigation or oversight follows.
The Trump administration will remain a significant factor in the political power dynamic, and organizations will need to calibrate for each center of power. With the likely arrival of new Democratic leadership, companies will be expected to understand and speak to the frustrations and concerns of their customers (i.e., base voters). To navigate a divided Washington, the most effective communications will keep the focus on these customers, use specific examples, and speak in plain language.
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Let’s Talk
If your organization is assessing how Democratic oversight could affect its reputation, public positioning, or stakeholder strategy, Narrative can help pressure-test your exposure, sharpen your message, and prepare for the questions most likely to come next. Connect with Rosemarie Calabro Tully at rct@narrativestrategies.com and Daraka Satcher at dsatcher@narrativestrategies.com.
Our Research Methodology
Narrative conducted this research among nationwide voters, with N=1,033 respondents, fielded from June 19 – June 22, 2026. We reviewed current Democratic campaign advertising to identify recurring affordability themes, developed realistic CEO-style statements using AI-assisted message variations, and tested reactions through real-time dial testing.
The findings are not a forecast of every future oversight action; they show which language builds trust, loses trust, or raises skepticism when affordability issues are on the table.
To read the full statements and watch the dial test results in real time, check out our latest NEXUS Pulse survey here.
