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Poll: 72 percent say there’s too much money in American politics

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by Ryan Mancini - 05/09/26 11:06 PM ET

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by Ryan Mancini - 05/09/26 11:06 PM ET

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A new poll shows that a large majority of Americans say they think there is too much money in U.S. politics.

Politico released a poll on Saturday showing that 72 percent of Americans say there’s too much money in politics, whereas 5 percent say they disagree.

A larger number of voters who backed former Vice President Kamala Harris and President Trump say they agree, with 80 percent of Harris voters saying there’s too much money in U.S. politics and 77 percent of Trump voters who say the same. Five percent of Harris voters and 4 percent of Trump voters say they disagree.

Pollsters also found that a majority of Americans say they think money shapes election outcomes, with 39 percent telling Politico’s pollsters that money can outright buy results. Another 34 percent say money can influence elections, but not buy them.

Most U.S. adults, at 61 percent, say billionaires have too much influence in politics, with 15 percent who say billionaires have the right amount of influence. Nearly half of adults polled, or 46 percent, say political parties have too much influence, while 25 percent of respondents say the influence is the right amount.

Americans mostly agree that campaign spending by special interest groups is a form of corruption and should be restricted. Fifty-three percent of Americans overall agree, along with 61 percent of Harris voters and 56 percent of Trump voters.

“Americans know that money matters, expressing a broad skepticism about how elections are decided,” Politico wrote. “A plurality believes the candidate with the most money — not the most popular positions — wins.”

Election spending in 2024 topped $14.8 billion, according to data from OpenSecrets, a nonpartisan nonprofit that tracks money in politics. This amount would be the second-highest level of election spending used in U.S. politics, with the $18 billion spent in 2020 being the highest amount spent.

This data also shows that the two elections with the most money spent were during a presidential election cycle.

The Politico survey was conducted April 11-14 and included 2,035 respondents. The margin of error is 2.2 percentage points.

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