Did the Payroll Tax Increase Bite the Dems in the Election?

Zachary Goldfarb raises this possibility in a Wonkblog post today. Certainly there is evidence that many voters were unhappy about stagnating incomes, and the payroll tax increase associated with the end of the payroll tax holiday in 2013 contributed to this stagnation.

However as a practical matter, it appears that few people noticed the tax increase at the time it took place. While 28.9 percent of respondents correctly answered a poll saying that their payroll tax was increased in 2013, 19...