In Georgia, Senate control may come down to economy and inflation woes

Two weeks ago, when a man broke into a church building in the gentrifying neighbourhood of Pittsburgh in Atlanta, Georgia, it was not computers he took but food.

- Charissa Yong

Recalling the incident, Reverend Arundel Hope of the Ariel Bowen United Methodist Church said on Monday: "These are the kinds of issues that we are dealing with in our community issues of poverty and homelessness and gentrification.

"The Pittsburgh neighbourhood is probably one of the hottest real estate markets right now. We have been priced out."

Rev Hope was with Georgia state lawmaker Park Cannon, who was canvassing for votes in a housing project not far from where civil rights icon Martin Luther King Jr was born.

Economic troubles are high on the mind of voters in the southeastern state of Georgia, one of a handful of key battlegrounds in Tuesday's midterm elections on which Senate control hinges.

While inflation across America is at its worst in 40 years, it is being felt particularly in Atlanta, which saw an inflation growth rate of 11.7 per cent for the 12 months ending August, compared with the national average of 8.3 per cent for the same period.

The main culprit: Rising housing costs driven by new residents flocking to the city, drawn by good jobs in a relatively lower-cost area.

Georgia's housing costs have risen 20 per cent from a year ago, compared with 13 per cent in the United States.