The survey was conducted near the end of April by Public Opinion Strategies on CoinDesk’s behalf, as part of CoinDesk’s coverage of the 2026 U.S. midterm election. The survey was evenly split between Republican and Democrat respondents (41% of respondents identified with each party to some degree), with a credibility interval of plus or minus 3.53%.
Crypto won’t be on the ballot this year, but the industry still has a vested interest in who wins. The market structure bill, one of the most important pieces of legislation, is seen as the top priority for crypto. Though the bill known as the Clarity Act still has a path to becoming a law before the end of the year, it’s taken far more time than expected and still needs to clear a number of hurdles. Other bills, including expected tax reform legislation, will likely end up before Congress in the coming months. Ahead of the election, the crypto industry has dedicated hundreds of millions of dollars intended to support friendly candidates, after being the single largest donor industry in the 2024 election.
This article is part of a CoinDesk series on voters’ views for the 2026 midterm election.
As of press time, the most likely outcome of the 2026 election is that Democrats will become the majority party in the House of Representatives, while the Senate is more likely to remain dominated by Republicans. A generic question in POS’s poll for CoinDesk about whether voters would choose the Republican or Democrat candidate gave a slight edge to Democrats (44% to 41%); this +3 margin is roughly in line with a number of other polls, according to a tracker hosted by The New York Times.
Prediction market provider Kalshi has the Senate at an even split. But Democrats have a much tougher road to picking up a majority there, Cook Political Report said in April.
This poll also showed U.S. President Donald Trump with a net negative approval rating, with 40% of respondents saying they somewhat or strongly approved of his performance, while 60% disapproved.
And unsurprisingly, respondents said the cost of living (36%), jobs and the economy (13%), and Social Security and Medicare (11%) were their single most important issues. Other issues, such as immigration and border security, healthcare, national security, government spending and more, all saw single-digit percentage responses. Crypto ranked at the bottom, largely among voters leaning toward the Republican Party. Artificial intelligence came in just a smidge higher, with 2% of respondents calling it their single most important issue.
