The Jenny Beth Show

McLaughlin 2026 Poll: 82.9% Back Permanent Fraud Detection │ McLaughlin & McNeily

Episode Summary

New national polling from McLaughlin & Associates reveals a stunning, cross-partisan consensus among likely 2026 voters — and the political class in Washington does not want you to see these numbers. On The Jenny Beth Show, Jenny Beth Martin breaks down the latest Tea Party Patriots Action national survey with veteran pollster John McLaughlin and Robert McNeily, Director of Broadcasting and Grassroots Engagement at Tea Party Patriots Action. Eighty-one percent of likely voters now say fraud in government programs is theft from taxpayers. Eighty-three percent want Congress to require a permanent system to detect and prevent fraud before taxpayer money is spent — not after it has already walked out the door. Voters increasingly connect government waste, fraud, and corruption directly to the rising cost of living, with seventy percent saying real affordability comes from cutting fraud, not from more government spending. The survey also tested birthright citizenship, assimilation and English-language expectations, political violence prosecution, White House security upgrades after multiple assassination attempts on President Trump, defending the constitutional order, blocking Iranian aggression in the Strait of Hormuz, and citizen-only voting at the heart of the SAVE America Act. Across nearly every demographic, the numbers are overwhelming — and they could reshape the 2026 midterm landscape. Jenny Beth Martin is co-founder of the Tea Party movement and Chairman of Tea Party Patriots Action. John McLaughlin has conducted the last six Tea Party Patriots Action national surveys and is one of America's leading pollsters. Learn more at teapartypatriots.org and jennybethshow.com.

Episode Notes

John McLaughlin is the CEO and partner of McLaughlin & Associates and one of America's leading pollsters, with decades of experience reading the national mood. He has conducted all six of Tea Party Patriots Action's most recent national surveys and worked on President Trump's 2016, 2020, and 2024 campaigns.

Robert McNeily is Director of Broadcasting and Grassroots Engagement at Tea Party Patriots Action. He works directly with the organization's three million grassroots activists on legislative campaigns including the ongoing push to pass the SAVE America Act.

Key topics covered:

 

Episode timestamps:

00:14 — Cold open — the political class does not want you to see these numbers

01:19 — Welcome to The Jenny Beth Show with John McLaughlin and Robert McNeily

02:13 — Methodology — likely voters, sample size, and why details matter

06:27 — Fraud in government programs is theft from taxpayers — 81% agree

08:42 — Permanent system to detect fraud before money walks out — 83% agree

11:33 — Affordability, the 39 trillion debt, and the inflation connection

14:43 — Activists, the SAVE America Act, and calling Congress

15:30 — Birthright citizenship and the original meaning of the 14th Amendment

18:08 — Assimilation, English, and one nation under God — 72% agree

22:35 — Border security, sanctuary policies, and national identity

27:19 — Iran, the Strait of Hormuz, and global shipping lanes

31:05 — Call to action — Capitol switchboard 202-224-3121

33:26 — Political violence has no place in America — 83% agree

37:17 — White House security upgrades and the secure ballroom complex

44:48 — Defending the Constitution heading into America 250 — 64% agree

48:10 — Only U.S. citizens should vote in American elections — 82% agree

49:45 — SAVE America Act, the filibuster, and the Texas runoff

52:11 — Strategic takeaways for Republicans heading into the midterms

57:20 — The one number to put on a billboard in the Capitol rotunda

01:02:36 — Robert McNeily on the Roswell Memorial Day observance

01:05:49 — Closing — Staff Sergeant Alan W. Shaw and Arlington Section 60

 

Links mentioned:

Capitol switchboard — 202-224-3121

passthesaveamericaact.com

whitehouse.gov/contact

teapartypatriots.org

jennybethshow.com

mclaughlinonline.com