In August, LegalShield's Consumer Stress Legal Index ticked up to its highest level since November 2020. In presidential battleground states, stress rose even more, and historically, that elevated battleground stress during October and November has resulted in a Republican White House win.

LegalShield SVP of Consumer Analytics Matt Layton joins Wealth! to discuss the report and what it signals about the 2024 presidential election.

"Our index is really made up of three different subindices: The bankruptcy index, foreclosure index, and a consumer finance index. Each of those three individuals are also increasing over the last several months. But when we speak to our lawyers, we hear issues like job security, layoffs — folks are concerned about their jobs. They don't have enough money at the end of the month to pay their bills," Layton tells Yahoo Finance.

He notes that over the last five elections, higher stress in battleground states was correlated to Republican victories. In August, stress levels in battleground states rose above the national average for the first time since February, signaling a potential Trump win.

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This post was written by Melanie Riehl