Corruption is top voter issue in final CNBC poll before election

Voters are now more concerned about government corruption than any other issue, including high grocery and gas prices, according to the final CNBC All-America Economic Survey before the Nov. 3 midterm election.

The finding follows a monthslong messaging effort by Democrats to link widespread economic dissatisfaction with what they allege is rampant corruption by President Donald Trump and his Republican allies.

CNBC’s survey of 1,000 registered U.S. voters found 36% of respondents pointing to government corruption as one of the most important issues facing the country right now. The cost of food and groceries came second with 34%, followed by protecting democracy and the price of gas, which garnered 23% each.

The nationwide poll, which gauged attitudes about the economy, Trump, Congress, artificial intelligence, the Iran war and more, was conducted Oct. 14-18. It was co-led by Democratic pollster Hart Research Associates and Republican pollster Public Opinion Strategies, and carries a margin of error of plus or minus 3.1 percentage points.

Read the full survey results here.

To be sure, the question asking voters to name their top concerns lists several economy- and cost-related topics separately, subdividing an issue that might otherwise rank higher if lumped into a single category.

But the results nevertheless align with other recent polls showing corruption has shot to the top of voters’ list of pressing worries.

A Fox News poll published last week found 60% of registered voters are extremely concerned about government corruption, surpassing concerns about inflation and high prices. A Washington Post-ABC News-Ipsos poll released Sunday found some two-thirds of respondents think Trump is using the presidency to enrich himself, up 10 percentage points since September 2025. Gallup recently found perceptions of government corruption in the U.S. have hit multi-decade highs. And an August poll from Reuters/Ipsos found nearly 7 in 10 Americans believe Trump’s businesses influence his presidential decisions.

Republicans have also tried to seize on growing anti-corruption sentiment. The Trump administration has launched a task force led by Vice President JD Vance aimed at cracking down on fraud, while the president frequently accuses his Democratic enemies of crookery.

“I just want to say that from day one of my administration, we’ve waged an unprecedented war on corruption and fraud, and will not let our country be looted and plundered by thieves and pirates and foreign fraudsters and basically scum,” Trump said Tuesday while unveiling a new reward program for whistleblowers.

But with Republicans in charge of the federal government — and as high costs linked to Trump’s tariffs and the Iran war have put…