Party Frontrunners Turn Focus to the Economy

Election focus turns back to economy

Scott Martin, United Advisors chief market strategist, Eliana Johnson, National Review Washington editor, and FBNs Charlie Gasparino break down speeches from Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump after their wins in Tuesday nights primary contests.

Poll after poll shows the health of America’s economy is a top concern for voters in the 2016 election season and speeches by both the presumptive nominees of the Democratic and Republican presumptive parties proved the candidates are listening.

Presumptive GOP nominee Donald Trump, in a speech thanking voters for their turnout during the primary season, called for tax and regulatory reforms alongside stronger job creation in the nation. By the same token, Democratic frontrunner Hillary Clinton, who after a win in New Jersey against rival Bernie Sanders gave her the necessary pledge delegates to secure her party’s nomination, said the economy should work for all classes, not just the 1%.

On the FOX Business Network’s Cavuto Coast-to-Coast Wednesday afternoon, Eliana Johnson, Washington editor at the National Review, said Clinton would love to discuss the economy given her husband’s, President Bill Clinton, economic success.

“The economy is improving right now relatively, though it hasn’t been very strong through the Obama administration. But she can harken back to the Clinton years in the ‘90’s. It’s something she wants to talk about,” Johnson said.

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To that point, the economy has recovered substantial ground since the Great Recession as the housing and labor markets have made a comeback as recent data show home prices have rebounded and consumer confidence continues to move higher.

However, Scott Martin, United Advisors chief market strategist, argued Clinton’s association with her husband is exactly what could turn the electorate against her in the General Election.

“Things like the Community Reinvestment Act were the genesis of the housing crisis. The fact that Clinton really can’t take credit for the tech boom that we saw in the late 90’s,” he said.

Martin continued by saying her association with her husband’s administration, having served as First Lady gives her a “middle road” kind of advantage, in his view, compared to the experience Trump brings as a businessman.

“It’s an advantage Trump carries: That private-sector experience, the creation of tens of thousands of jobs, that he can bring to his resume,” Martin said.