Nearly 6 in 10 voters say the economic and political systems are stacked against people like them, tying a record high over roughly 40 years of national NBC News polling.
According to the latest NBC News survey, 59% of registered voters agreed that those systems are stacked against them, while 38% disagreed with that sentiment and 3% were not sure. The share who agreed with that notion tied a high point in April 1992, a record set after NBC News began polling this question in 1988.
An overwhelming share of voters (84%) say they agree with the statement that “the very rich and powerful are above the law when they do something wrong, they look out for each other, using their power and connections to get special treatment,” while 14% disagree and 2% agree.
And among those who agree with that statement, two-thirds say that the notion that the rich and powerful are above the law has gotten worse over the past five or 10 years, while 29% say it has stayed the same and 4% say it has gotten better.
Democratic pollster Jeff Horwitt said the new poll numbers indicate “historic levels of anger and disgust with our political and economic systems.”
“It is a series of warning signs for the establishment and leaders of the country that Americans are deeply dissatisfied and looking for change,” said Horwitt of Hart Research Associates, who conducted the survey along with GOP pollster Bill McIntruff of Public Opinion Strategies.
The sentiment that these systems are stacked against average Americans has been rising in recent years.
Majorities of respondents in NBC News polling have agreed with this sentiment each time this question has been asked since 2012, except for Feb. 2017, when polling found 43% agreeing with that sentiment.
The most recent survey was conducted from Feb. 27 to March 3, around one month after the Justice Department released millions of pages of records related to the federal investigation of the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. While the poll did not specifically ask about the Epstein files, the controversy surrounding the records has ensnared high-profile public figures, including celebrities, business leaders and politicians like President Donald Trump. Many public figures named in the Epstein files have denied wrongdoing and have not been charged with a crime. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt has repeatedly stressed that Trump “did nothing wrong,” and the president has not been charged with any crimes related to the Epstein investigation.
The most recent survey found a wider partisan divide than ever before, reflecting an increasingly polarized country.
Two-thirds of independents and a sizable majority of Democrats (73%) view economic and political systems as stacked against them. The share of Democrats agreeing with that sentiment has increased by 26 points since September 2022, a marked shift that coincides with Democrats losing control of Congress and the presidency.
By contrast, as Republicans have gained power and Trump returned to the White House, fewer Republicans see those systems stacked against them. The latest poll finds 44% of Republicans say those systems are stacked against them, a 21-point decrease since September 2022.
The NBC News poll surveyed 1,000 registered voters Feb. 27-March 3 via a mix of telephone interviews and an online survey sent via text message. It has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.1 percentage points.