New Poll: Voters Want Pragmatic, Moderate Policy Solutions Rather Than Extreme Ideology
New Morning Consult-Next American Era poll finds broad, cross-ideological support for moderate, solutions-oriented policymaking ahead of 2026 midterms
WASHINGTON, DC — July 9, 2026 — Next American Era today released new polling conducted by Morning Consult showing that voters across the political spectrum are turning away from political extremes and rallying around pragmatic, solutions-focused governance – an opening that could shape the outcome of the 2026 midterms. The survey, conducted from May 29 through June 1, 2026 among 2,019 registered voters, finds that the American electorate is not asking for a political revolution from either direction. It is simply asking for results. According to the survey, Democrats hold a meaningful but fragile advantage heading into the 2026 midterm elections that could be strengthened or squandered depending on the policy approaches they adopt.
The findings come as Next American Era – a new pro-growth, pro-worker, pro-consumer organization committed to advancing solutions-oriented policy – works to inform the national policy debate ahead of a critical midterm cycle.
“The data is clear: voters want practical and achievable policy solutions that will make meaningful improvements in their lives, not more empty promises and hyperpartisan arguments,” said former Rep. Cheri Bustos, President of Next American Era. “We urge leaders on both sides of the aisle to listen to the vast majority of Americans. It’s time to stop the fighting and start working together to improve the lives of all Americans.”
Key findings include:
Moderate policy approaches consistently outperform both Progressive and MAGA approaches: Across nearly every issue tested – from energy costs, tariffs, housing affordability, and workforce development, to market competition, gas prices, and AI oversight – voters prefer moderate policy descriptions over both Progressive and MAGA alternatives. The moderate policy advantage over Progressive policy is largest on tariffs (+19), market competition (+14), and workforce development (+14). The moderate advantage over MAGA policies is largest on AI oversight (+27), gas prices (+19), and tariffs (+19).
Importantly, voters who do not trust either party on a given issue (also referred to as “undecided trust voters”) broadly prefer moderate policiesto extreme ones – creating opportunities for either party to gain trust.
Voters want practical solutions, not ideological combat: A majority of voters (60%) prefer targeted, practical solutions that address specific problems, bring people together across party lines, and can be implemented with minimal disruption, over sweeping reforms that make fundamental changes to the economic or political system (23%). Notably, this preference is shared by Progressives (72%) and MAGA Republicans (71%) alike.
Three-in-four voters want compromise: 74% of voters want elected officials to find common ground with the opposition party and build lasting compromises – a view shared by 88% of Progressives and 77% of MAGA Republicans.
The economic mood is pessimistic:More than half of voters (58%) say the country is headed in the wrong direction. Voters identify inflation (49%), energy costs and gas prices (29%), and healthcare and prescription drug costs (28%) as the most important economic issues facing the country.
Workable solutions matter more than winning the argument: Two-thirds of voters (68%) say it is extremely or very important for elected officials to find workable, results-oriented solutions rather than advance ideological agendas, even if that means compromising with the other side. That view is held by 86% of Progressives and 78% of MAGA Republicans as well.
Democrats hold a lead on trust, but it’s shallow:Voters trust the Democratic Party more than the Republican Party to find effective solutions across the policy areas tested, with the largest advantages on childcare costs (+10), healthcare affordability (+9), and housing affordability (+6). But neither party earns majority trust on any issue, and roughly one-in-four voters say they don’t trust either party or don’t know which to trust across issues.
Both Democrats and Republicans can win support by embracing moderate policies: For Democrats, on five key issues – including tariffs, workforce development, market competition, consumer protection, and AI oversight – both the party base and voters who don’t trust either party on the issue prefer the moderate policy approach. These issues present the most promising opportunities to grow support among undecided and disengaged voters without alienating core constituencies. For Republicans, a similar opportunity to close the trust gap is most promising on issues including AI oversight, gas prices, and market competition.
Click here to read the full polling memo.
About Next American Era
Next American Era is a national 501(c)(4) organization focused on advancing a pro-growth, pro-consumer, and pro-worker agenda that strengthens communities, fuels innovation, and expands economic opportunity for all Americans. NAE is led by Cheri Bustos, former Chair of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee and former U.S. Representative for Illinois’s 17th congressional district.
About the Survey
This poll was conducted by Morning Consult on behalf of Next American Era between May 29 and June 1, 2026, among a sample of 2,019 registered voters. The interviews were conducted online, and the data were weighted to approximate a target sample of registered voters based on gender by age, gender by children in household, race by educational attainment, educational attainment, marital status, home ownership, region, 2024 presidential vote, and race. Results from the full survey have a margin of error of plus or minus 2 percentage points.
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