Advertise on podcast: Poll Hub

The 2026 midterm results are in! We break down who won, highlight the races that made the biggest impact, and discuss what the outcomes could mean for the future of American politics, from control of Congress to the gubernatorial races. We also look back at the contests we polled this fall, from Texas and Iowa to Ohio, Michigan, Maine, and New York. And about those polls... we take a look at how the final numbers stacked up on Election Day. Plus, a fun fact that Elon Musk will love. In July 1997, just days after NASA’s Pathfinder landed on Mars, voters were asked whether there would ever be a McDonald’s on the Red Planet. Jay thinks another restaurant chain might have Martian advantage....

Our final round of polls before Election Day is out, and we're looking into our data on Maine and New York. In Maine, the contest for U.S. Senate between Democrat Troy Jackson and Republican incumbent Susan Collins is competitive among likely voters. In the race for governor, Democrat Hannah Pingree and Republican Bobby Charles are tied, with independent Rick Bennett in single digits. Regardless of whom they support, most likely voters think Collins and Pingree will win. In New York, Gov. Kathy Hochul leads Republican Bruce Blakeman among likely voters. In both states, negative views of President Donald Trump and concerns about personal finances shape the landscape. Plus, should a paycheck measure the value of a college degree? Under the Education Department’s new Earnings Accountability Framework, programs whose graduates repeatedly fall below specified earnings thresholds can lose access to federal student loans. We look at whether Americans think college programs should be held accountable for what their graduates earn and how they weigh the cost and benefits of higher education. Americans broadly support holding colleges accountable for students’ economic outcomes, but they also value personal interests and career goals beyond earning potential. So, who should define what a worthwhile education looks like? And the scariest question of the season: just days before the 1998 midterms, which Halloween costume did voters think would send the neighbors running: a politician or a journalist?

Our new Marist Ohio and Michigan Polls look at the state of the 2026 midterms with Election Day looming. These polls now include likely voters, and in both, the critical U.S. Senate races are very close. In Michigan, Democrat Abdul El-Sayed and Republican Mike Rogers are neck-and-neck, and in Ohio, Democrat Sherrod Brown just edges Republican Jon Husted. Among registered voters, both Democrats hold leads similar to what they had in our September polls. Democrats have bigger advantages in the races for governor in both states, with Jocelyn Benson ahead in Michigan and Amy Acton ahead in Ohio. We look at President Trump’s upside-down approval rating, with a plurality of likely voters in both states saying their vote for Congress is mainly a vote against him. We also cover the financial worries shaping voters’ choices. Then, the rise of prediction markets like Kalshi and Polymarket, where people can bet on everything from election results and voter turnout to government decisions and military actions, has a lot of people worried. More than twice as much money has already been bet on this year’s congressional races than in the entire 2024 cycle. Supporters say these markets can help predict what will happen, while critics worry about insider trading, gambling, and people profiting from real-world events. Most Americans see prediction markets as gambling, and majorities oppose betting on elections, military actions, and government decisions. We discuss whether public opinion might force politicians to act. And with the postseason in full swing, a fun fact from the archives: in early 1950, Gallup asked Americans if they had ever gone to a Major League Baseball game. How many said yes? You might be surprised.

We return to Texas and Iowa with our second round of Marist Polls this election season. With Election Day just weeks away, the key races look much as they did in September. In Texas, Democrat James Talarico continues to edge Republican Ken Paxton for U.S. Senate, and the governor’s race between Gina Hinojosa and Gov. Greg Abbott remains competitive. In Iowa, Democrats Josh Turek and Rob Sand also have the edge in the races for Senate and governor. We look at President Trump’s influence on the midterms and the issues shaping voters’ choices in two states he carried in 2024. In segment two, we examine whether women trust the institutions responsible for handling sexual-assault reports. The allegations involving seven Cornell students have renewed debate over how campuses respond and over New York’s consent laws. That debate includes a reopened criminal investigation, Gov. Kathy Hochul’s call for an independent review, and new calls to change the law. We look at what national surveys show about confidence in campus investigations. Fewer women than in 2019 expect a report to be taken seriously, and there’s a wide gender gap in views of how often harassment and assault go unreported. Marist University Associate Professor of Crime and Justice Studies, Dr. Julie Raines, joins to provide insights.

We've been doing a lot of polling lately, and our latest batch hits close to home! We polled voters in New York and Maine to find out what they're thinking and for whom they might vote. We dig into the data to explain why a relatively unpopular governor, Kathy Hochul, is up by 11 points in New York. And, we check out how famously independent Down East voters are weighing their options: Pick the beats-the-odds incumbent Republican Senator Susan Collins or go with a Democrat. For segment two, we look at how the largest and richest retirement group in American history (the Boomers!) are both beneficiaries of Social Security as it is today -- and part of the reason the trust fund could run out of enough cash to pay full benefits in 6 short years. What do Americans -- especially younger Americans -- think of this? And, a fill-in-the-blank fun fact perfect for the fall season...and the most predictable Lee answer ever!

Ohio and Michigan are two states to watch in this year's midterm elections. We break down our latest Marist Poll numbers in both states, including the contests for U.S. Senate in Ohio and Michigan as well as their respective gubernatorial contests. We also examine the role President Trump is playing in voters’ choices in these two Midwestern states. For some voters, their congressional vote is primarily a vote against the president. We dig into how those views are shaping the political landscape in Ohio and Michigan. The economy is also part of the picture. Ohio and Michigan voters are also assessing their own financial situation, with many saying their finances have gotten worse over the past year. We analyze how those views vary across party lines and what they could mean heading into the midterms. Then, the White House's recent battle with some members of the White House press pool has raised questions about freedom of the press. We take a look at the data. We finish with a fun fact from 2012 that asks a very important question: where is your favorite place in your home to hide your money?

The 2026 midterms are getting closer, and the latest polling gives us a look at where voters stand. This week on Poll Hub, we dig into our latest national poll, examining the congressional elections, the political landscape, the economy, and the issues shaping voters’ choices. We also take a closer look at new polling from Texas and Iowa and what those state-level numbers tell us about the political environment heading into November. Then, we turn to a different kind of number: the price you pay. Surveillance pricing uses personal information, including location, browsing history, shopping behavior, and other data, to determine individualized prices or promotions. We look at what Americans think is fair when companies use personal data this way, including the difference between getting a personalized recommendation or discount and being charged a different price for the same product. So, what happens when the information companies collect about us starts influencing what we pay? We explore where Americans draw the line between personalization, privacy, and fair pricing. And, of course, we wrap things up with a fun fact about whether you have to be at least a little crazy to live in New York City.

This time on Poll Hub, we’re devoting the episode to one topic that has, over the course of about a week, taken over the minds of Americans: Killer AI. Although prominent experts have been warning about the possibility of superintelligent AI wiping out humanity for years, this week the conversation broke through into the mainstream. We dig through the muck to explore how AI experts are coming down on different sides of the argument, and how non-experts, including Donald Trump and other politicians, are weighing in as well. We also remember that, just a few weeks ago, data centers, the infrastructure behind AI, had broken through as a surprise campaign issue in this fall’s elections. Could the broader debate over AI become a political issue, too? Then, we look at how we’re using AI here at the Poll. Not to do polls, but to transform some elements of what we do. And, finally, we ask whether kids using AI might be the next thing to break through. And, no, we have not forgotten the fun fact. Indeed, we’ve pulled another weird one from the box!

President Trump's latest trade war, this one with Canada, has sparked big tariffs, rising costs, and the possibility of electoral backlash in several states that will determine whether Democrats or Republicans control Congress. The team looks at what Americans think of all this overall, but also how Republicans -- especially MAGA Republicans -- have darkened on Canada. And we look at how it's playing in states like Ohio and Michigan whose economies are deeply tied to Canada -- and where two key Senate races could be decided by the issue. Next, we have done many segments on the decades-long fall in how much Americans trust institutions. While that continues unabated, we wanted to look at it through a different lens: what makes an "expert" to most Americans in the current environment flooded with social media information silos? We finish with a trended fun fact that takes us from 1980 to the present -- it's a crazy wave that is coming back to where we started.

Flock cameras are becoming an unexpected political issue, with Americans increasingly divided over the balance between public safety and privacy. We look at new polling on automated license-plate readers, including why many people recognize their potential to help solve crimes while remaining concerned about the collection, storage, and use of location data. We also examine the growing push for independent oversight and restrictions on how law enforcement can access the information. Then, we turn to the ways our own childhoods shape the way we raise children. Americans are nearly evenly split between raising their kids similarly to how they were raised and deliberately doing things differently. We look at the family roles Americans remember from childhood, the parenting styles they use today, and why some parents are choosing more affection, communication and emotional openness while others seek to preserve the values and structure they grew up with. Finally for our fun fact, we ask not what is for breakfast but when is it?

Wisconsin’s Democratic gubernatorial primary delivered one of the biggest polling misses of the cycle. The final Marquette Law School Poll had Francesca Hong well ahead of the field, while eventual winner David Crowley remained in the single digits. A few weeks earlier in Michigan, Abdul El-Sayed eked out a win in the Democratic Senate primary after polls had shown him running away with it. So, what happened? G. Elliott Morris joins the Poll Hub team to break down where the polling went wrong, why primaries can be especially difficult to measure, and what lessons pollsters can carry into the midterms. Then, we turn to Americans’ increasingly complicated relationship with extreme wealth. New polling shows skepticism toward billionaires and how they accumulated their fortunes, but are these attitudes actually new? We look back at decades of polling on the wealthy, taxes, and economic fairness to see how Americans’ views have changed over time, and where today’s backlash fits into a much longer debate over wealth and the American Dream. We end by sending AJ off on his last episode ever. Tears. Check out Morris's Strength in Numbers site and his FiftyPlusOne polling site.

Women have transformed the American workforce, but the expectations surrounding work and family have not changed at the same pace. We look at how the traditional family model has shifted, from an era when Americans overwhelmingly believed mothers should stay home to today, when two parents working full-time has become much more common. Yet even when both parents work full-time, women continue to report taking on more parenting and household responsibilities. We also examine the progress women have made in leadership, education, and well-paying jobs, alongside the continued gender pay gap, and the divide over whether children are better off with a stay-at-home parent. Then, we turn to the changing debate over the military draft. With the U.S. preparing to automatically register eligible young men for Selective Service, we look at how Americans' views of the draft have shifted since the end of the Vietnam-era draft in 1973. We examine today's opposition to automatic registration, the debate over whether women should face the same requirements as men, and how age, gender, and military experience shape those views. And, for our fun fact, we go back to 1949, when Gallup asked Americans a very practical question for the dog days of summer....before almost anyone had air conditioning.

As the 2026 midterms approach, we're taking on a defining question in American politics: is MAGA the same as Trump, and is Trump the same as the Republican Party? MAGA has become the party's public face, yet many of Trump's own voters don't consider themselves part of the movement. We examine whether that coalition can hold together with Trump off the ballot, what happened the last time his name wasn't on it, and why one party is heading into November noticeably more motivated to vote than the other. It may be the clearest test yet of whether MAGA is bigger than the man who built it. Then, we turn to criminal records. A person can be arrested, never convicted, and still carry a record for life, one that can affect their ability to find a job, rent a home, earn a professional license, or even vote. We look at how many Americans are living with a record, the rare bipartisan support for reforming how those records are used, and why, despite that agreement, so little has changed. We also examine how Americans view the prison system itself and why that view has held largely steady for a generation. And for our fun fact, we go back to 1950, when Gallup asked Americans a simple question: can you swim?

Artificial intelligence may be transforming the way we work, but the infrastructure behind it is creating new questions for communities across the country. As demand for AI grows, so does the need for massive data centers that power everything from cloud computing to new AI tools. While supporters point to jobs, investment, and economic growth, many Americans are raising concerns about electricity use, water consumption, environmental impacts, and whether local communities should bear the costs of powering the AI revolution. And the issue is blasting into election campaigns across the country ahead of the mid-terms. Is this the sleeper issue of the year? Next, we look at the growing conversation around mental health in the workplace. Stress and burnout remain widespread, especially among younger workers, and employees increasingly say that workplace well-being affects where they choose to work and whether they stay. We explore the push for mental health days, the rise of employer-sponsored mental health benefits, and the challenge of creating workplaces that support employees before problems become crises. Finally, we test your knowledge with a fun fact from the past — when Gallup asked Americans in 1948 about their ideal home temperature. See how public preferences have changed and whether your guess matches the numbers.

Americans are spending more time, money, and energy trying to change how they look. Many adults want to lose weight; millions are using GLP-1 drugs, and the anti-aging industry continues to grow. For teens, appearance concerns are increasingly shaped by social media, with girls reporting especially high levels of pressure to look good. At the same time, the rise of looksmaxxing shows how boys and young men are also being drawn into increasingly intense, and sometimes dangerous, efforts to improve their appearance. Next, we're talking about “job lock" -- that's what a growing number of workers are in by staying in jobs they would rather leave if not for the health insurance tied to employment. As healthcare costs rise, coverage is influencing whether Americans change careers, start businesses, or pursue work they find more fulfilling. With broad concern about affordability and continued debate over the Affordable Care Act, we ask whether health insurance should still be so closely connected to where someone works. Finally, we are whistling while we work...well, some of us are anyway!