The midterm motivation gap

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No. 399 | April 24, 2026

🇺🇲 Trump’s strongest soldiers lag run-of-the-mill Democrats in midterm motivation

We’ve been tracking motivation in the midterms for quite some time, and this month Kristen broke the numbers down by MAGA vs. non-MAGA Republicans.

MAGA Republicans are more motivated to vote, but even they lag all Democrats and leaners by 9 points in being extremely motivated to vote in the midterms.

We asked a similar question to more directly isolate the Trump factor in the midterms — getting an even wider spread. This question specifically focused on their party winning control of Congress to either stop or help Trump’s agenda. All Democrats were 16 points more extremely motivated than MAGA Republicans. Non-MAGA Republicans were 35 points less extremely motivated than Democrats.