midterm elections
A Kansas resident fills out his ballot for the midterms on the first day of in-person voting at the Douglas County Clerk Election Office in Lawrence, Kansas on October 14. Getty Images

Republicans' and Democrats' feelings about the economy moved in drastically different directions after the midterm election results in which the latter obtained a historic victory.

A new Morning Consult study found that Republicans became much more pessimistic about the economy's future after the election, while Democrats moved in the opposite direction.

Morning Consult examined five metrics to gauge confidence in the economy going forward. The biggest disparity was how Democrats and Republicans viewed business conditions in the next five years. Republicans' feelings went down 12 points, while Democrats' feelings about the future rose 9 points. The poll surveyed about 5,000 adults.

Democrats were actually the most optimistic about the short-term, with their feelings about personal finances in the next year rising by 12 points. By comparison, Republicans' feelings fell six points.

"Expectations for personal finances and the broader economy accounted for almost all of Democrats' improvement and most of Republicans' decline," Morning Consult stated. "Democrats grew more hopeful about their own finances a year ahead, while Republicans' largest drop came in their five-year business outlook."

Overall consumer sentiment also shifted along partisan lines with Republicans moving six points in the negative while Democrats moved six points in the other direction.

Morning Consult noted that the consumer sentiment swing was larger than it was following the two previous midterm elections in 2018 and 2022.

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One area where there was little movement regardless of party affiliation was consumer demand.

"There's been no matching bump in the demand signal. Morning Consult's Consumer Health Index, which combines sentiment and labor data to track demand, showed no matching improvement," the report stated. "Consumer demand did not change among U.S. adults and actually edged down among Democrats and Republicans. This stands in contrast to the 2024 presidential election, when Republicans' demand improved."

Democrats won a massive victory in the midterm elections. They are expected to secure an 83-seat majority in the House once all the races are called. In the Senate, Democrats currently have a 55-to-44-seat majority and are leading in Alaska.