Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ)
In a politically polarised American electorate, it can be hard to find bipartisan consensus on many issues. Ahead of the US midterm elections, however, there is one thing almost everyone can agree on: concern about government corruption.
A record 89% of Americans recently said in a Gallup poll that government corruption is widespread, with Republicans, Democrats and independents all in agreement (ranging between 83-91%). This marks a significant increase from 73% in Gallup’s polling from 2024.
Out of 132 countries Gallup polled on the question since 2023, only four have recorded higher overall levels of concern: Lebanon and Peru (both 92%), and Ghana and Nigeria (both 90%).
As much as cost of living issues have defined much of the recent campaign rhetoric, a recent Fox News Poll found that concern about corruption in government (88%) ranked higher among voters than inflation (85%) or gas prices (83%).
A CNBC survey similarly found government corruption to be the most important issue facing the country, above any concerns about the economy.
And according to the ad-tracking firm AdImpact, of the US$11.6 billion that will be spent in political advertising this election cycle, more than US$275 million has gone to corruption-themed ads – around US$173 for Democrats and US$93 for Republicans.
Who do Americans blame?
As much as Democrats point to the unprecedented gifts from foreign governments to the Trump family and the massive expansion of the Trump family wealth during Donald Trump’s second presidential term, Americans are by no means exclusively blaming the Trump administration for corruption.
When the Brennan Center for Justice, a voting rights organisation, asked a representative sample of 2,000 Americans this year whether certain individuals or institutions were corrupt, respondents had negative views across the political spectrum. These included view about Congress (85%), Trump (68%), Joe Biden (63%) and the Supreme Court (62%).
And when asked whether this is a problem driven by individuals making unethical choices or a problem “deeply embedded in the institutions of the US government”, about two-thirds of respondents chose the latter. Only 7% said they were not concerned about corruption influencing elected officials.
This does not appear to be a new phenomenon. Levels of trust in American politicians, political parties, news media, government institutions and even the “American people” have been declining since Gallup began polling on the issue in the 1970s. And they’ve hit record lows in recent years. While 86% of Americans trusted the American people in 1976, today barely half do.
Adding further nuance to this issue: Gallup also highlights the significant gap between American perceptions of corruption in government (89%) versus corruption in business (71%). The survey says few countries have gaps this large.
And, interestingly, this public perception of corruption does not trickle down to local politics.
In another survey by YouGov many more respondents deemed US senators and representatives to be corrupt (75%) than mid- or low-level government workers (39%).
This gets to an important reason why such high levels of distrust in institutions have not led to more unrest: Americans still appear to have trust in their local governments.
And this has largely not changed since Gallup first polled on the topic more than 50 years ago. Today, two-thirds of Americans trust their local government, which is actually slightly higher than the 63% who did in 1972.
On the whole, Americans also retain trust in the ability of elections – like the midterms – to act as political circuit breakers.
What about the midterms?
Candidates running for office this year have taken note of the deep voter distrust in Washington elites, parties and institutions.
One need only watch a few of the many viral political ads this campaign to see a well-worn script: candidates blame Washington insiders for corruption and other issues, while touting their local bona fides.
It should come as no surprise that many candidates are eschewing party labels altogether, often going so far as to criticise their own party.
But this is not the first time politicians of all stripes have appeared keen to distance themselves from the ruling class, and from political insiders viewed as corrupt and detached from the everyday realities of most Americans.
After all, with the exceptions of Biden and George H.W. Bush (both former vice presidents who served under popular two-term presidents), every US president of the last half century has come to the Oval Office with fewer than five years of experience in Washington – if any.
Americans have largely been against Washington insiders for decades – particularly when economic anxiety is high.
Yet what’s different in this year’s midterm elections is how many are trying to fuse corruption with that economic anxiety. Not since the 2006 midterm elections has corruption been such a prominent theme in an election.
James Talarico, the Democratic hopeful for the Senate in Texas, has said on the campaign trail, “we have an affordability crisis because we have a corruption crisis”.
And in Georgia, Democratic Senator Jon Ossoff routinely tells voters “corruption is why things don’t work for ordinary people.”
These Democratic efforts follow similar efforts by Republicans to portray Democrats as the more corrupt party costing American taxpayers money.
Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency, for instance, sought to target what it called “waste, fraud and abuse”. And Republicans in Minnesota have highlighted a welfare-fraud scandal that essentially forced Democratic Governor Tim Walz to abandon his plans for a third term of office.
It’s unclear whether these sorts of accusations will inspire the political backlash that other issues – namely abortion, immigration and the economy – have in past elections.
However, Democrats do have one advantage in the midterms. They are currently seen as the preferred party (by 10 percentage points in recent polling) to fight corruption. This explains why they are spending nearly twice as much on ads about corruption than Republicans.
However, should Democrats be successful and take control of Congress, they will be expected to act on this issue, and not just become part of the ongoing problem.
Jared Mondschein does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.
Original source: https://analysis1.mil-osi.com/2026/11/01/will-anger-over-corruption-be-the-deciding-factor-in-the-us-midterms/