Progressives are pushing Democrats to pair their cost-of-living message with anti-corruption rhetoric, and they’re rolling out new polling of battleground states and voters of color in the South to back up their argument.
Eighty-eight percent of 2026 battleground voters surveyed said candidates must focus on lowering costs and addressing corruption, and 73% were more likely to support a candidate advocating for both, according to the polling, conducted in August by Lake Research and commissioned by the progressive group Indivisible.
“Voters see a political and economic system that is rigged against them, and they don’t trust politicians to solve their kitchen-table problems if they’re not ready to take on the broken system,” said Ezra Levin, Indivisible co-founder and co-executive director.
But both parties are underwater, the poll showed, with 53% of voters viewing congressional Democrats unfavorably and 70% viewing Republicans negatively.