In this week’s Economist/YouGov poll:

Plus polling on the 2026 elections, parties in Congress, Trump's primary endorsements, a fund to pay people who claim to be victims of the federal government, Trump's income taxes, federal spending, and climate change.

  • Among registered voters, Democrats are far more likely than Republicans to say they are more motivated than usual to vote in 2026 (60% vs. 36%)
  • Among registered voters, 84% of Democrats say they will definitely vote in the November elections, compared to 73% of Republicans
  • Slightly more Americans expect that after the November elections, Republicans rather than Democrats will control the House of Representatives (35% vs. 32%) and the Senate (36% vs. 29%)
  • 32% of Americans say Republicans in Congress are more effective at pursuing their goals, compared to only 23% who say Democrats are
  • 48% of Americans say the Republican Party is too extreme, compared to 41% who say the same about the Democratic Party
  • Twice as many say it's a bad idea than say it's a good idea for Donald Trump to endorse MAGA candidates running in primary elections against incumbent senators (43% vs. 22%). Among Republicans, 51% say it is a good idea and 15% say it's a bad idea
  • Opposition is twice as high as support (49% vs. 24%) for paying $1.776 billion to people who claim to have been mistreated by the federal government
  • Twice as many Americans say Donald Trump does not pay the amount of federal income taxes he owes as say he does pay the amount he owes (49% vs. 25%). 65% say presidents should release their tax returns for the public to see
  • Majorities of Americans support increasing federal spending on Social Security (72%), Medicare (66%), and Medicaid (58%). About half (51%) support increasing federal spending on SNAP, or food stamps

See the toplines and crosstabs for the May 22 - 26, 2026 Economist/YouGov Poll

Methodology: The poll was conducted among 1,520 U.S. adult citizens. Respondents were selected from YouGov’s opt-in panel to be representative of U.S. adult citizens. A random sample (stratified by gender, age, race, education, geographic region, and voter registration) was selected from the 2019 American Community Survey. The sample was weighted according to gender, age, race, education, geographic region, 2024 presidential vote, 2020 election turnout and presidential vote, baseline party identification, and current voter registration status. 2024 presidential vote, at time of weighting, was estimated to be 48% Harris and 50% Trump. Demographic weighting targets come from the 2019 American Community Survey. Baseline party identification is the respondent’s most recent answer given around November 8, 2024, and is weighted to the estimated distribution at that time (31% Democratic, 33% Republican). The margin of error for the overall sample is approximately 3.5%.

Image: Getty (Roberto Schmidt / Stringer)

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