What motivated voters in the 2026 midterm elections, according to The AP Voter Poll

Sanders and Lodhi analyze the AP Voter Poll of roughly 80,000 voters in all fifty states. Four in ten named the economy as the country's top problem and roughly three in ten named democracy; about half said both the cost of living and government corruption were crucial to their congressional vote.

About seven in ten said Congress was doing too little to check the presidency, and three-quarters disapproved of Congress. Democrats held issue advantages, but fewer than half of voters viewed the party favorably, evidence that a rejection of the incumbent does not equal a strong mandate for the opposition.