Overwhelming majorities think America’s political and economic systems need to change.
Americans believe the political system, immigration system, and elected representation, like the president and Congress, are most broken.
More than a third of Americans don’t trust either party to fix a broken political system.
The Vast Majority of Americans Think Democracy is Broken
Nearly nine-in-10 (87%) say our democracy is broken. This includes 90% of independents and 72% of MAGA Republicans who say American democracy is at least a little broken. The plurality (43%) say U.S. democracy is only somewhat broken while nearly a third (32%) say it is completely broken. Just 13% of respondents say our democracy is not broken.
At least 65% of people across every demographic – age, gender, political party, education level, and income, among others – say American democracy is at least somewhat broken.
Most Think Political and Economic Systems Need Major Changes
A majority think the American economic system needs major changes (55% major changes) while 13% say the system needs to be torn down completely. A quarter (25%) say the economic system only needs minor changes while just 7% say it needs no changes at all.
55% of Americans say the political system needs major changes while 16% want it torn down completely. Just 29% say only minor changes or no changes are needed (24% minor changes – 5% no changes). These results are relatively unchanged from when Navigator asked this in April 2025 (13% torn down completely – 59% major changes – 29% minor or no changes), demonstrating the desire for institutional change remains high.
Republicans are nine points more likely to say the political system needs at least major changes than they are to say the same about the economic system (48% at least major changes to the economic system – 57% at least major changes to the political system).
Americans See Both Parties Focused On Change, but Are Split On Whether That Change is Good or Bad
A plurality of Americans see both Democrats and Republicans focused on making changes to the way government works, rather than preserving the way it works (Democrats: 33% preserving – 46% changing, Republicans: 31% preserving – 49% changing). Both parties have seen major shifts from when Navigator last asked this question in April 2025.
In April 2025, a slight majority of Americans (51%) said Democrats were focused on preserving the way that government works, compared to just 33% today, a swing of 18 points towards being focused on change.
Since April 2025, the portion of Americans who say Republicans are focused on preserving the way that government works has increased by 11 points (April 2025: 20% preserving – May 2026: 31% preserving), while fewer see Republicans as trying to change the way the government works.
Americans are split on whether the changes each party is pursuing are for better or worse. Among those who see Democrats as focused on changing how government works, slightly more say those changes are positive (18%) than negative (16%), with 11% saying it’s a mix of both. Republicans face a more skeptical read: among those who see the GOP driving change, more say it’s for the worse (22%) than for the better (17%).
Notably, more independents think both Democrats and Republicans are changing things for the worse, however they feel more negatively about Republicans (Democrats: 11% change for the worse – Republicans: 21% change for the worse).
Americans Name the Political and Immigration Systems and Congress as the Most Broken
When given a list of institutions and systems in American life, people rated the political system, the immigration system, the presidency, and Congress as the most broken (political system: 58% broken – immigration system: 57% broken – presidency: 54% broken – Congress: 54% broken).
Americans are less likely to say localized institutions are broken. While 54% say Congress and the presidency are broken, less than two-in-five said the same about state and local government (State government: 37% broken – local government: 31% broken). Similarly, as 48% say the criminal justice system is broken, only 33% say the same about law enforcement.
Among the items Navigator tested, the military was the only institution to have more people say it was not broken than broken (34% not broken – 22% broken), although a plurality (38%) said it was somewhat broken.
Many Americans Don’t Trust Either Party To Fix Broken Systems
While Americans are evenly split on whether Democrats or Republicans can be trusted to fix a broken political system (30% Democrats – 30% Republicans), a plurality (34%) think neither party can be trusted to fix it, and 6% don’t know.
Three-in-five independents (61%) say they trust neither party to fix a broken system, however those who did choose a party gave Republicans a seven-point advantage (9% Democrats – 16% Republicans).
Global Strategy Group conducted a public opinion survey among a sample of 1,000 registered voters from May 13-May 18, 2026. 102 additional interviews were conducted among Hispanic voters. 101 additional interviews were conducted among African American voters. 75 additional interviews were conducted among Asian American and Pacific Islander voters. 101 additional interviews were conducted among independent voters. The survey was conducted online, recruiting respondents from an opt-in online panel vendor. Respondents were verified against a voter file and special care was taken to ensure the demographic composition of our sample matched that of the national registered voter population across a variety of demographic variables. The margin of error for the full sample at the 95 percent level of confidence is +/- 3.1 percentage points. The margin of error for subgroups varies and is higher.
Polling data on how Americans' reaction to recent revelations in Donald Trump’s criminal cases, and a retrospective look at the top concerns about actions taken during Trump’s presidency.
