Why over two‑thirds of Americans say their country is in decline
Inflation is causing real economic pain. Worries about healthcare costs have jumped sharply. And 7 in 10 Americans believe the country is in decline. That is the landscape for the 2026 midterm election, according to a new survey from the American Communities Project at Michigan State University, which I direct. The findings, which follow up previous data work the American Communities Project has done in 2023, 2024 and 2025, come from a survey of 2,155 American adults over two weeks in September 2026, conducted by the survey research firm SSRS, using an online panel and telephone, with a margin of error of +/- 2.4 percentage points. The American Communities Project studies 15 types of communities. Taken as a whole, the national numbers reveal an electorate that is unsettled, gloomy and likely looking for change. Cost of living is a unifying concern for all Americans. For the past four…