21% of Voters Dislike Both Parties, Up From 13% in 2022. Keep That Mood Out of Your Portfolio
The Journal’s Aaron Zitner and Neil Mehta find a growing bloc of voters who dislike both parties, distrust the system and rate the economy poorly. That mood is real — but it’s a poor portfolio manager, and a plan should be built to hold up under either outcome on Nov. 3.
By Sean Anees Saifi · Capital Wealth · Published Sunday, October 4, 2026 · Source: The Wall Street Journal, October 3–4, 2026 weekend edition, whose market figures are the Friday, October 2 close (Page One)
Key Points
21% of voters in a recent Journal poll hold an unfavorable view of both parties — up from 13% in the 2022 midterms and about 12% in the past two presidential elections.
More than 40% of these double haters are undecided on Congress or not fully committed. They’ve been a bellwether, siding with the winning party in both 2018 and 2022 — once each way.
Their gloom runs deep: 90% say the country is headed in the wrong direction, and 84% rate the economy poor or not so good, versus 61.4% of all other voters.
AdImpact counts more than 340 different House and Senate ads since Sept. 1, from candidates and their allies, on alleged corruption or lawmakers’ stock trading — with about $110 million behind them.
The poll surveyed 1,500 registered voters Sept. 16–21, with a margin of error of plus or minus 2.5 points. The midterms are Nov. 3.
21%
Voters unfavorable toward both parties (WSJ poll, Sept.)
13%
The same share in the 2022 midterms
84%
Double haters rating the economy poor or not so good
$110 million
Ad spending on corruption or lawmakers’ stock trading since Sept. 1
Double haters sided with the winner in 2018 and again in 2022 — a different party each time — which is why both campaigns are chasing them.
In one line: More voters than in recent elections dislike both parties and rate the economy poorly — an understandable mood, and exactly the kind of feeling that shouldn’t be making investment decisions.
Troy Evans, 59, sells for food companies outside Houston and has voted in almost every big election for 40 years. Not this one: he says he’ll skip the midterms. “It’s insane how much the cost of everything has gone up,” he told the Journal — and he has company. In a new Journal poll, 21% of voters said they view both parties unfavorably, up from 13% in the 2022 midterms and about 12% in the past two presidential races.
Pollsters call them double haters, and the Journal’s Aaron Zitner and Neil Mehta make the case that they matter out of proportion to their numbers. More than 40% haven’t settled on a congressional vote or are not firmly committed, and they have tended to land with the winner — one party in 2018, the other in 2022. They aren’t checked out, either: 57% voted in the last midterm, close to the 62% of all respondents. What they are is sour. Ninety percent think the country’s on the wrong track, and 84% call the economy poor or not so good, against 61.4% of everyone else. Amy Walter of the nonpartisan Cook Political Report sees a “deeper structural anger” that she expects to outlast November.
The campaigns have noticed. AdImpact, which tracks political advertising, counts more than 340 different House and Senate ads since Sept. 1 that hit on alleged corruption or lawmakers’ stock trading, with roughly $110 million behind them — and a Senate push to restrict members’ trading fell short this past week. Who gains at the ballot box is a question for Nov. 3. Ours is narrower: what should a household do with all this distrust?
Our read
This is a Behavioral piece, and we’re not taking a side — the poll doesn’t need one. A mood this strong is a real signal about how people feel; it’s a poor set of instructions for a portfolio. Election-year anxiety tends to show up as one big decision — going to cash before the vote, or loading up on whatever the expected winner is supposed to favor — and that’s two bets at once: who wins, and how markets react. Being wrong on either can cost more than doing nothing. A plan that only works if one party wins isn’t a plan; it’s a wager.
The better move is the dull one: a portfolio built to hold up under either result, near-term spending parked in cash or short-term Treasurys, a mix you’d keep under any Congress, and rebalancing rules set now rather than on Nov. 4. And if the stock-trading ads have you tempted to copy Congress, don’t — whatever lawmakers decide about their own accounts, yours should run on your goals. Vote however you like; just check the plan’s foundations before the forecast turns, not while you’re watching the returns come in.
What It Means For Your Portfolio
Hold — build a plan that works for either outcome
No portfolio action — a rising share of voters who dislike both parties says plenty about the national mood and nothing about how to allocate your money; build for either result on Nov. 3.
General planning principles, not advice for anyone in particular. Before the midterms, confirm that the next year or two of planned withdrawals sit in cash or short-term Treasurys, so no outcome forces a sale. Write down your rebalancing bands while you’re calm, and let the rules — not the headlines — decide any trades after the results.
If you feel the urge to make one big pre-election move, size it as if you’re wrong about both the outcome and the market’s reaction; if that version hurts, it’s too big.
