A new poll shows deep frustration with both parties. ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌

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I’ve written that corruption is the sleeper issue of 2026. Well, it’s awake. And the issue may be bigger than I realized.

That’s the implication of a new national poll

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released today by the Brennan Center. The survey was conducted in late April and early May, just before the president’s attempt to create a $1.8 billion slush fund to funnel taxpayer money to his political allies.

The results are striking. More than 9 in 10 voters believe corruption is a big problem across politics and government. Large majorities view corruption as endemic and deeply embedded in government institutions, from the Supreme Court to Congress to the presidency. They are dejected about the fact that scandals continuously go without consequences and shocking revelations fail to produce reform.

Margins are overwhelming among Democrats, Republicans, and independents.

Most importantly, voters back bold reform. Eighty-three percent want a law that bars presidents from having conflicts of interest and holds them to stronger ethical standards. Eighty-one percent want a new federal ethics enforcer. Seventy-nine percent want a constitutional amendment that restores limits on money in elections, and other anticorruption measures received similar levels of support.

It’s hard to find a set of proposals with a wider bipartisan appeal.

Yet there are notes here that should jar complacency. Listen carefully to voters. They define corruption broadly. Vast majorities see the spectacle of politicians catering to the interests of billionaires and big corporations as corrupt, not surprisingly. But to most Americans, wasting taxpayer dollars and even failing to respond to constituent needs are also forms of corruption.

Vast majorities believe this corruption is part of why government doesn’t respond to major issues, including concerns like affordability and housing. How do we connect these arcane government rules to people’s economic well-being? Voters are already doing so.

There are warning signs aplenty for politicians from both parties. Other polls have shown that voters think neither Democratic nor Republican politicians are better than the other on the issue.

Policymakers should understand that the public’s conception of what has gone wrong goes far deeper than super PACs or White House ballrooms or even slush funds. To them, it is a system that is fundamentally misfiring. A government that is not performing. And there is a willingness to name names and assign blame.

In some ways, these results are ominous. We often note that the 2024 election was the first time since the 1800s where the incumbent party lost the White House three times in a row (2016, 2020, 2024). This survey shows a deeply disquieted electorate, scornful of the political system and furious at its flaws. That environment created the conditions for Trump’s populist nationalism to emerge in 2016. It hasn’t gone away.

Yet this is also the kindling that can fuel new approaches, sharper critiques, and stronger solutions. If polls are to be believed, Sen. Jon Ossoff (D-GA) has turned his political fortunes through a relentless and often stirring stump-speech focus on corruption.

The breadth of public unhappiness suggests a deeper moral critique. Even now, amid wrenching technological change and evaporating standards, people seem focused on an underlying core of personal responsibility.

My old boss, President Bill Clinton, often talked this way, especially when he was running for president in 1992. “The American dream that we were all raised on is a simple but powerful one,” he would say. “If you work hard and play by the rules, you should be given a chance to go as far as your God-given ability will take you.”

More recently, that ethos was given voice in Hungary by its new president, Péter Magyar. Running against the authoritarian kleptocrat Viktor Orbán, Magyar vowed that Hungary would no longer be “a country without consequences.” He pledged to oversee not just new policies but a thorough effort to clean house and to hold accountable those who had stolen from the people.

The new Brennan Center research suggests that voters here, too, are ready for a country with consequences. That will help shape the next political era — if we are ready to make it happen.





New Insights into Police Surveillance

A Brennan Center investigation has found that the Boston Police Department is conducting broad social media surveillance, with minimal requirements to document these practices or protect the public’s privacy and civil liberties. Our review of more than 1,000 pages of documents and multiple conversations with the BPD and its affiliated fusion center revealed that the department relies on controversial social media monitoring tools and undercover accounts to keep tabs on a range of groups, events, and individuals — all without a clear public safety rationale. Read more

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Gerrymandering, Explained

Gerrymandering dates back to the earliest days of the nation, but it has also changed dramatically since the founding. It is now more frequent, more extreme, and more pivotal given the tight margins of House majorities. Our updated explainer breaks down how gerrymandering works, the damage it causes, and what can be done to stop it. Read more

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Judges Can Be Term Limited and Independent

Although life tenure for Supreme Court justices was intended to protect their impartiality, longer lifespans and strategic retirements have led to unintended consequences. “Can a new system be designed that fixes the randomness and unseemliness of the current system while retaining the vital benefits of Supreme Court independence? The answer is yes,” writes Thomas Berry, director of the Cato Institute’s Robert A. Levy Center for Constitutional Studies. Writing for The Benchmark

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, our hub for Supreme Court news and opinion, Berry argues for 18-year term limits and regular appointments. Read more

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Podcast

The Intellectual Movement Behind MAGA (with Laura Field)

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The primary ideas and policies of today’s right are very different from those that previously dominated conservative politics, and they are increasingly influential in Washington and elsewhere. Laura Field, author of Furious Minds, dives into the characters, ideas, and institutions that have shaped the creation of the intellectual movement behind the MAGA new right. YouTube

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// Spotify

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// Apple

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// SUBSTACK

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News

Maya Kornberg on the abuse faced by women in public office // EAST BAY TIMES

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Michael Li on California’s role in the fight for control of Congress // LOS ANGELES TIMES

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Eric Petry on the Trump family’s profiteering // THE PALM BEACH POST

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Gowri Ramachandran on the threat of midterm ballot seizures // WIRED

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