With the 2026 midterm elections still a year away, Americans are growing increasingly weary of both major political parties. According to a new Pew Research Center survey, neither the Republican nor the Democratic Party is widely viewed as governing ethically or honestly.
The survey of 3,445 adults, conducted from Sept. 22-28 just before the monthlong government shutdown, found that only 39% of Americans describe the Republican Party as governing honestly, while 42% say the same about the Democrats. Most Americans view both parties as too extreme, with 61% saying that about Republicans and 57% about Democrats.
Frustration dominates the national mood. About half of Americans say both parties make them angry, and only 36% say the Republican Party makes them feel hopeful. Even fewer, 28%, say that about the Democrats.
“Majorities continue to view both parties as too extreme in their positions,” Pew researchers wrote in the report released Thursday. “And both are viewed by majorities as not governing honestly and ethically.”
The discontent is particularly intense within the Democratic Party. Sixty-seven percent of Democrats say their own party makes them feel frustrated, a sharp increase from previous years. Among those who are frustrated, 41% say the main reason is that the party has not pushed back hard enough against the Trump administration. Others cite weak leadership, lack of a clear message, and an absence of unity.
Republicans express far less frustration than Democrats, though they are not entirely satisfied either. Forty percent of Republicans and Republican-leaning independents say they are frustrated with their party, while nearly seven in 10 say the GOP makes them feel hopeful.
The study also found that Americans remain deeply divided on policy. The Republican Party continues to hold an edge on crime and immigration, while the Democrats lead on health care, abortion, environmental policy, and issues of race.
Forty-five percent of Americans say they agree with the GOP on crime policy compared with 28% who side with Democrats. Republicans also lead by nine points on immigration, but their advantage on the economy has nearly disappeared, falling to only three points. Democrats maintain a wide lead on health care, with 42% siding with them and 29 % with Republicans.
Even on foreign policy, large shares of Americans reject both parties. Forty-six percent say they agree with neither on the Israel-Hamas conflict, and 36% say the same about Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
The survey shows that confidence in democratic values is fading. A narrow majority of Americans, 53% , say the Democratic Party respects the nation’s democratic institutions and traditions, while only 44% say that about the GOP. Democrats are more often described as tolerant of different types of people, with 56% saying that applies to the party, compared with 40% who say that about Republicans.
Nearly a third of respondents, 31%, say both parties are too extreme, and one in four say neither governs honestly. About a quarter say neither represents their interests well.
Even when Americans agree, their expectations reveal the divide. Most people in both parties say it is important for the opposing side to compromise but fewer than half say their own party should do the same. Only 46% of Democrats and 39% of Republicans say it is very important for their party’s elected officials to reach across the aisle.
According to Pew, “Most Americans are frustrated with both parties, and about half say each makes them angry.”
Some people have taken to X to talk about their disappointment about both parties.
“The problem that regular Americans face is that because we live in a two party system,” Spencer Hakimian, founder of Tolu Capital Management, wrote on X on Sept. 8, formerly known as Twitter, “we constantly get ping ponged back and forth between the 2 incompetent and inept forms of governing. The Center concluded that, “Neither the Republican nor Democratic Party is widely seen as having good ideas.”
The survey’s margin of error is plus or minus 1.9 percentage points. But the deeper error may lie in how far the public’s faith has fallen in a system that no longer inspires hope.
“All in all,” the authors concluded, “Americans don’t see many good ideas from either political party.”
I see almost no good ideas in either party. They have always both lied to the public, but it used to be easier for them to trick the people.