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... While economic pressures were a driving issue in the midterm elections this week, voters pointed with similar intensity to another priority: They care about the values and behavior of the officials they elect.
And they expect better.
Tillie Ann McHone, a delivery driver who cast her vote in Commerce City, Colorado, trained her focus on President Donald Trump. In the midterms, Democratic candidates regularly accused Mr. Trump of using the presidency to enrich himself, his family, and his wealthy allies.
"What are we paying taxes for at this point if he's going to take all our taxpayer money and just give it to rich people?" she told the Monitor on Election Day. "I want Trump out of office."
Mr. Trump wasn't on the ballot, but voters sent him and his Republican Party a clear message, giving Democrats wide majorities in both branches of Congress with victories in many parts of the country that voted for him two years ago. In the 2026 SSRS Voter Poll, conducted on Election Day, 90% of voters said that corruption was a crucial or major problem, at least as important as inflation, immigration enforcement, and the war in Iran.
The concern surged to the forefront, to an unusual degree, at a time when Mr. Trump has drawn scrutiny for, among other actions, family business dealings that have continued apace during his time in office. ...
