STERLING HEIGHTS, Mich. (WXYZ) — The top two candidates ahead of tonight's presidential debate are the same, but the issues driving people to polls are different.
In 2020, the pandemic was top of mind for Americans. Fast forward four years, voters tell me the economy and immigration are leading the charge.
From Farmington Hills to Sterling Heights, voters expressed what issues mattered to them the most when it comes to the November election and the first presidential debate.
"The first thing is the economy," Prem Mishri told me in Farmington Hills. "You know how is the U.S. economy doing. The prices have gone up to much and the salary feels like half of what we used to get before. So what the government plans on doing to improve the economy is my area of interest secondly the job market. It's very dry right now...I am hoping one of them whoever wins will be able to lead the country of course these are great people they will be able to but my concern is that I wish we had better candidates to choose from."
"It's a mix of economic issues, primarily inflation, things like that," Joe Vargo said in Farmington Hills. "Employment and then, I guess, interest rates and then secondarily it's our involvement in conflicts internationally, so those are the two big things I think I would be more interested in-land focusing on issues domestically, rather than getting involved in the Middle East and potentially the South China Sea."
Over in Sterling Heights at The Pantry, I sat down with several people and listened to what issues were important to them.
Jimmy Poe told me one of the most important issues for him is immigration and the border, along with inflation.
"Because we are getting a lot of people in here that we don't know who they are," Poe said. "I think inflation is hard on a lot of people. You know very detrimental."
"The border because I am disgusted with what is going on," said Carol Reinhart. "The economy. I am a senior citizen and I was making it just fine every month and then all of a sudden I was having to dip into my savings So I know I wasn't making it and inflation is eating up everybody's money."
But one voter we spoke with at The Pantry said it's not about the issues.
"It's the whole scope of all of it," said Marie Kubsack. "I wish people would start thinking about a lot of things that morally is correct. It all kind of works out. Poor, rich. You do the best you can do all the time but there's a thing called morality and you have to look at that."
