Corruption Shoots to Top of Voters’ Concerns Before Midterms
Surveys show government corruption has become a bigger issue for voters in the past year
Americans have become increasingly worried about government corruption, with some surveys showing that it has even surpassed economic issues as voters’ top concern ahead of the midterm elections.
In a recent CNBC All-America Economic Survey, 36 percent of respondents listed government corruption as one of the most important issues facing the country, narrowly beating out the cost of food and groceries. A Fox News poll found that 60 percent of voters are “extremely concerned” about government corruption, with worries over inflation and gas prices trailing slightly behind.
Meanwhile, a Gallup poll found that concerns about government corruption in the United States had hit a record high, with 89 percent of U.S. adults saying it was a widespread issue — the highest number in the past two decades.
Though Democrats across these surveys have expressed more concern about government corruption than Republicans, the gap has not been large. Government corruption has become a bipartisan worry, and the portion of Americans concerned about it now outpaces most other countries, the Gallup poll found.
The increased concern follows several high-profile reports of alleged corruption within the Trump administration, including former U.S. ambassador to Greece Kimberly Guilfoyle asking for $100,000 from a Trump donor to help pay off her credit card debts and a Russian ambassador who paid hundreds of thousands dollars for Donald Trump Jr.’s wedding expenses.
Though Democrats have largely focused on addressing affordability this election cycle in their messaging, many candidates and politicians have tied the Trump administration’s estimated $1.6 billion in spending on “vanity projects” such as the White House’s renovations and planned “Arc de Trump” monument.
Speaking about the GOP’s first-ever September midterm convention, for example, Rep. Robert Garcia (CA-42) criticized President Donald Trump and Vice President J.D. Vance for hosting the extravagant event while Americans across the country were struggling to afford groceries.
“Donald Trump does not care about the average American family or about affordability,” he said.
