Joanne Hsu, director of consumer surveys at the University of Michigan, said the consumer confidence index was essentially flat for the fourth straight month, edging up 1.4 points. As this month's election made headlines, sentiment among Democrats rose 6 percent after Harris replaced Biden as the Democratic presidential nominee. Sentiment among Republicans, on the other hand, fell 5 percent this month. Sentiment among neutral independents rose 3 percent. The survey showed that 41 percent of consumers thought Harris was the better candidate on the economy, and 38 percent chose Trump. Overall, expectations for both personal finances and the five-year economic outlook strengthened to their highest level in four months, consistent with the fact that election developments could affect future expectations but are unlikely to change current assessments. However, some consumers noted that if their expectations for the election did not materialize, their expected trajectory for the economy would be completely different. As a result, consumer expectations could change as the presidential race becomes a bigger focus.