Buying stuff has become more expensive in the United States and Democrats are beginning to feel the political pressure.

The party suffered electoral losses and close calls in Virginia and New Jersey, majority-Democratic states where voters who prioritized the economy chose GOP candidates over Democrats. In Virginia, Republicans ran ads blaming Democrats for price increases.

Last week, Democratic leaders, including Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, held a press conference with Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo to quell concerns about supply chain shortages one major driver behind inflated prices. Their message to Americans: It would take time to get back to normal, but theyre working on it.

But some Democrats recognize that theres a need to say more on the issue.

Rep. Ami Bera (D-Calif.), who is part of the more moderate New Democrat Coalition in the House, said he doesnt think Democrats are messaging effectively around the real problem of inflation.

I think that were bogged down in the process of trying to get really important legislation done, Bera said. I think weve got to acknowledge the people where they are right now and I dont think we did a great job of that in Virginia, Bera said, attributing Republican Glenn Youngkins win in the governors race to his acknowledgment of kitchen table issues like kids schooling and the rise in everyday expenses.

Rep. Abigail Spanberger, a front-line Democrat from Virginia, told The New York Times that Democrats need to do more to address voters concerns about the economy.

We were so willing to take seriously a global pandemic, but were not willing to say, Yeah, inflation is a problem, and supply chain is a problem, and we dont have enough workers in our work force, Spanberger said last week.

The state of the economy is weird at the moment. Rising wages paired with unprecedented financial relief from the government has actually left families with some savings, which is pretty rare in an economy that is coming out of a recession.

Because families are suddenly able to spend, the heightened demand has put an unmanageable strain on global supply chains that are still being disrupted by the ongoing pandemic.

But its not like the pandemic is completely over, either. The workforce is not back to where it was before COVID-19 ravaged the economy. Last month, traders began to worry , prematurely, that there were signs of stagflation the combination of slow to nonexistent economic growth, but continued inflation.