It’s Not Just ‘The Economy, Stupid’: Political Corruption Giving Inflation Run For Its Money As Top Voter Issue

Corruption has become a top issue alongside affordability for many voters ahead of Tuesday’s midterm elections.

Polls show that corruption has joined affordability as the issues voters are most concerned with in the 2026 midterm election cycle as the latter issue is often linked to President Donald Trump’s war against Iran in voters’ minds. Trump, his family and administration officials have been accused of several corrupt actions, including accepting a plane from Qatar and pardoning a cryptocurrency exchange CEO tied to Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump’s business ventures.

Sarah Chamberlain, the president of the Republican Main Street Partnership, told the Daily Caller News Foundation that corruption became the “number one issue” because of current economic conditions.

“Usually, the polling is much better for the Republican than it has been,” Chamberlain told the DCNF. “I think it’s just across the board, people are tired of the corruption … If the economy were healthier, no one would pay attention to the corruption. But because they’re struggling, corruption is a bigger deal on their minds.”

A Fox News poll found government corruption to be the top issue, with 60% of registered voters being “extremely concerned,” while 58% expressed the same level of concern about inflation. Seventy-two percent of Democrats said they were “extremely concerned” about corruption and 47% of Republicans said the same.

Thirty-six percent of voters said government corruption was their top concern in a CNBC poll from Friday, while 34% said grocery costs were their biggest concern. Nineteen percent of registered voters said corruption was their top issue in a CNN poll from Wednesday.

A Financial Times survey found that 91% of Democratic voters and 72% of independent voters were “concerned about corruption, self-dealing or conflicts of interests” in the Trump administration. Another survey by Navigator Research, a Democratic-aligned polling organization, found that 81% of voters believe corruption in government is contributing to rising costs.

Former U.S. Ambassador to Greece Kimberly Guilfoyle resigned on Oct. 13 after the administration asked her to step down. Guilfoyle allegedly asked Trump donor Eric Deters to wire $100,000 to her American Express account in exchange for getting access to Trump. The wire transfer never occurred.

The State Department’s Office of Inspector General is investigating Guilfoyle after her alleged solicitation.