Michael Nave, a 61-year-old Republican who lives in Dunedin, Florida, cast his early ballot in Clearwater on Wednesday, October 28, 2026, three days before the article’s October 31 publication date, against every Republican on the ticket, including Representative Anna Paulina Luna. His reasoning was blunt: Donald Trump, he said, promised to drain the swamp but became the swamp himself.
Nave's break with his own party reflects a broader shift documented by The New York Times, which reports that corruption has climbed into the top tier of voter concerns ahead of the midterms even though voters usually regard politicians of both parties as equally tainted by it. Nave believes politicians of both parties enrich themselves while working-class people struggle, a sentiment that polling increasingly backs up nationwide.
Polls Show Corruption Rivaling Pocketbook Issues
A CNBC survey of 1,000 registered voters found that 36% considered government corruption one of the country's most important issues, narrowly ahead of the cost of food and groceries at 34%, with protecting democracy and gas prices each drawing 23%, according to CNBC. The same survey gave Democrats a four-point edge over Republicans, 35% to 31%, when voters were asked which party would better address government corruption.
Separately, an NBC News Decision Desk Poll powered by SurveyMonkey, which surveyed 19,135 adults online from September 28 through October 12 with a margin of error of 2.6 percentage points, found Trump's approval rating at just 34% among U.S. adults against a 66% disapproval rating, NBC News reports. That same poll found 52% of U.S. adults consider the Trump administration more corrupt than previous administrations, though 56% said corruption is equally bad in both major parties, with 25% calling it worse among Republicans and 17% worse among Democrats.
Fighting Corruption Edges Out Other Priorities
An Emerson College national poll conducted October 24 through 26 found that 28% of likely voters said fighting corruption in government most affects their vote for November, placing it second only to cost of living at 34%, per Emerson College Polling. Democratic likely voters were especially animated by the issue, with 38% naming it as their top driver, compared with Republican and independent voters.
The Brennan Center for Justice reports that Americans across the political spectrum view corruption as a major problem in politics and government ahead of the midterms, with 88% of surveyed voters blaming corruption for the government's failure to solve major problems such as the economy. Per the Brennan Center, more than nine in ten voters across the Midwest, Northeast, South and West called corruption a big problem, and concern ran high in urban (89%), suburban (93%) and rural (94%) communities alike.
Trump's Finances Draw Fresh Scrutiny
Nearly two-thirds of Americans say Trump is using the presidency to enrich himself, with most of the increase over the past year coming from people who lean Republican, according to the Washington Post. New financial disclosures suggested Trump made at least $2.2 billion in his first year back in the White House, including roughly $1.4 billion from his family's cryptocurrency businesses, the New York Times reported separately. The Times also noted that billionaires and corporate elites have supported Trump, and that figures including former New Jersey Senator Bob Menendez and former New York Representative George Santos have become touchstones in the broader national conversation about political corruption.
Luna and Gray Clash Over Stock Trades
In Florida's 13th Congressional District, those national currents have a very local address. Republican Representative Anna Paulina Luna is running against retired Brig. Gen. Leela Gray, a Democrat, in a race that has been depicted by Gray as emblematic of party self-enrichment and cronyism under Trump. Per the Tampa Bay Times, the race has heated up with new campaign ads running across Tampa Bay, and Luna has aimed her own advertising at Gray's stock investments.
House Democrats have returned fire. The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee spent five figures on a digital ad accusing Luna of insider-trading hypocrisy, according to Florida Politics, pointing to financial disclosures showing Luna invested between $250,000 and $500,000 in America First Natural Resources, a company founded by donor Bruce N. Rosenthal. The outlet's reporting is part of a broader DCCC push that is targeting five Republican-held congressional seats in Florida, including Luna's.
The contest is competitive on paper despite Trump having carried the district by roughly 12 percentage points in 2024. A House Majority PAC poll conducted in late August found Gray leading Luna 51% to 46% in a head-to-head matchup, Florida Politics reported, a sign that corruption messaging may be landing even in traditionally Republican turf.
One Voter's Break With His Party
Back in Dunedin, Nave's decision to vote against Luna and the rest of his party's ticket captures what pollsters are describing in the aggregate: a rare moment when corruption concerns are cutting across party lines rather than splitting neatly along them. Democratic efforts have potentially increased the resonance of corruption allegations this cycle, even as corruption concerns have grown amid broader distrust in government and perceived opacity in Washington.
Whether that frustration translates into Gray unseating an incumbent in a double-digit Trump district remains to be seen. But for voters like Nave, the calculation was less about party than about principle, a ballot cast against everyone wearing his own team's jersey because, as he put it, the swamp never got drained.
