Research

August Current Events Survey

August 28, 2026

In August 2026, Galvanize Action surveyed ideologically moderate women to see how they were feeling about current events.

QUESTION #1
How favorable or unfavorable is your opinion of each of the following?

Stacked bar chart titled "How favorable or unfavorable is your opinion of each of the following?" Four bars, each showing favorability split across Very favorable, Somewhat favorable, Somewhat unfavorable, and Very unfavorable. The progressive side of the Democratic party: 13% very favorable, 37% somewhat favorable, 28% somewhat unfavorable, 23% very unfavorable. The mainstream side of the Democratic party: 15% very favorable, 38% somewhat favorable, 28% somewhat unfavorable, 19% very unfavorable. The mainstream side of the Republican party: 13% very favorable, 35% somewhat favorable, 29% somewhat unfavorable, 23% very unfavorable. The MAGA side of the Republican party: 12% very favorable, 21% somewhat favorable, 19% somewhat unfavorable, 48% very unfavorable.

	Very favorable	Somewhat favorable	Somewhat unfavorable	Very unfavorable
The progressive side of the Democratic party	13%	37%	28%	23%
The mainstream side of the Democratic party	15%	38%	28%	19%
The mainstream side of the Republican party	13%	35%	29%	23%
The MAGA side of the Republican party	12%	21%	19%	48%

Respondents reported low favorability of the MAGA side of the Republican party. The mainstream side of the Republican party is viewed similarly favorably as both the progressive and mainstream sides of the Democratic party, which is not strongly favored or opposed.

QUESTION #2
How well do each of the following represent the values and priorities of people like you?

	Not at all well	Not too well	Somewhat well	Very well
The progressive side of the Democratic party	23%	31%	35%	10%
The mainstream side of the Democratic party	18%	30%	38%	14%
The mainstream side of the Republican party	23%	30%	33%	13%
The MAGA side of the Republican party	45%	22%	19%	14%

Findings here are similar to the first question, showing that very few respondents say any of the factions represent their values and priorities very well, once again indicating dissatisfaction with both parties.

QUESTION #3
Which party do you trust to do a better job regulating Artificial Intelligence (AI)?

Bar chart, "Which party do you trust to do a better job regulating Artificial Intelligence (AI)?" Democratic Party: 27%. Republican Party: 23%. Neither party: 29%. Both equally: 6%. Not sure: 15%.

The Democratic Party	27%
The Republican Party	23%
Neither party	29%
Both equally	6%
Not sure	15%

While more women surveyed say they trust the Democratic party (27%) than the Republican party (23%) to regulate artificial intelligence, a plurality (29%) say they would not trust either party. Additionally, 15% say they are not sure, which indicates there is a portion of our audience who has not yet formed an opinion or is not knowledgeable about the topic.

QUESTION #4
If you were unsure who to vote for in an upcoming election, how likely or unlikely would you be to ask an AI tool (such as ChatGPT, Claude, or Gemini) for help deciding?

Bar chart, "If you were unsure who to vote for in an upcoming election, how likely or unlikely would you be to ask an AI tool (such as ChatGPT, Claude, or Gemini) for help deciding?" Extremely likely: 5%. Somewhat likely: 20%. Somewhat unlikely: 17%. Extremely unlikely: 58%.

Extremely likely	5%
Somewhat likely	20%
Somewhat unlikely	17%
Extremely unlikely	58%

Three quarters (75%) of respondents say it is unlikely that they would use an AI tool for help deciding who to vote for in an election, with over half (58%) saying it is extremely unlikely.

QUESTION #5
Thinking about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, do you have a favorable or unfavorable opinion of each of the following?

Stacked bar chart, "How favorable or unfavorable is your opinion of each of the following?" The Israeli government: 8% very favorable, 29% somewhat favorable, 39% somewhat unfavorable, 24% very unfavorable. The Palestinian Authority, which controls the West Bank: 2%, 22%, 51%, 25%. Hamas, which has controlled Gaza: 2%, 10%, 37%, 50%. The Israeli people: 20%, 45%, 25%, 10%. The Palestinian people: 12%, 44%, 33%, 11%.

	Very favorable	Somewhat favorable	Somewhat unfavorable	Very unfavorable
The Israeli government	8%	29%	39%	24%
The Palestinian Authority, which controls the West Bank	2%	22%	51%	25%
Hamas, which has controlled Gaza	2%	10%	37%	50%
The Israeli people	20%	45%	25%	10%
The Palestinian people	12%	44%	33%	11%

Overall, women in this sample view the governments of Israel and Palestine much less favorably than the people. The majority of women surveyed view both the Israeli government and the Palestinian Authority either somewhat or very unfavorably, and half of respondents view Hamas very unfavorably. While women surveyed view both the Israeli and Palestinian people more favorably than unfavorably, they view the Israeli people more favorably than the Palestinian people.

QUESTION #6
Which of the following best describes your plan to vote in the 2026 midterm elections?

Bar chart, "Which of the following best describes your plan to vote in the 2026 midterm elections?" I plan to vote Democrat: 37%. I plan to vote Republican: 31%. I plan to vote, but I'm not sure yet how I'll vote: 20%. I do not plan to vote: 11%.

I plan to vote Democrat	37%
I plan to vote Republican	31%
I plan to vote, but I’m not sure yet how I’ll vote	20%
I do not plan to vote	11%

Galvanize Action has asked the same question five other times this year:
January | April | May | June | July

Bar chart titled "Midterm Vote Choice x Time," tracking voting plans for the 2026 midterms from January through August. Plan-to-vote-Democrat is the highest response in every month, dipping in the spring/summer before rising again in August. Plan-to-vote-Republican stays roughly level across months, with a slight increase in August. "Not sure yet" declines gradually from January to August. "Do not plan to vote" rises gradually before dropping in August.

More women surveyed say they plan to vote Democrat (37%) than Republican (31%). While 19% of women surveyed in July said they did not plan to vote, only 11% of women surveyed in August (a different sample) said the same. While this is outside the margin of error and could be evidence of change, we cannot know if this is a trend or an outlier without further research.