New polling this week indicates that there is a strong desire among U.S. voters for a third political party, to counter both the Republican and Democratic parties. However, when asked if they’d join a party created by billionaire Elon Musk, voters overwhelmingly rejected the idea.
After hinting for several weeks that he’d start a new party after he and President Donald Trump had a public falling out, Musk created an unscientific poll on his X profile earlier this month, asking his followers if they supported his idea for an “America Party.” The poll, which undoubtedly oversampled fans of Musk, showed support for the idea. After the survey’s conclusion, Musk vowed to establish his own political party.
“By a factor of 2 to 1, you want a new political party and you shall have it!” he wrote.
A Quinnipiac University poll published earlier this week indeed shows that many Americans would like there to be a third political party.
According to the poll, one in two voters, 49 percent, signaled that they would join or consider joining a third party. The question did not ask voters about the ideology of such a party.
In a separate question, however, respondents were asked if they’d join a third party created by Musk. Only 17 percent of voters overall said they’d join or consider joining that party, with more than three in four voters, 77 percent, saying they wouldn’t.
The poll demonstrates that voters are indeed supportive of the idea of a third party — but not one created or endorsed by Musk, whose far right views and support for neo-fascist politics have been on full display over the past year.
A higher rate of Democratic-leaning voters (39 percent) said they’d consider a third party option than Republican-leaning voters (28 percent), the Quinnipiac University poll found. When Musk’s name is added into the mix, support for a third party drops among both groups, with Republican voters more likely to support the idea (18 percent) than Democratic voters (6 percent).
Notably, Democratic voters gave congressional lawmakers from their own party low approval ratings — only 39 percent of those voters approve of the way they’re handling their jobs, while 52 percent disapprove, the poll showed.
Republican voters, meanwhile, are supportive of their lawmakers’ actions, with 77 percent expressing approval and only 20 percent disapproval.
The dismal numbers from Democrats may indicate that Democratic voters are upset with their party’s approach to disrupting or opposing the Trump administration. Indeed, when voters overall are polled on Trump, only 40 percent say they’re happy with the job he’s performed in his second term so far, while 54 percent say they disapprove.
Trump is underwater on a number of issues in the poll, too. On trade, he nets a -16-point approval rating. On his handling of deportations, it’s -21 points. And on foreign policy, it’s -13 points.
Voters are also indicating that they’re more likely to support Democrats than Republicans in the 2026 midterm elections — though only barely so.
According to an average of polling data collected by RealClearPolling, Democrats are ahead of Republicans by around 3 points in a generic congressional ballot question. While the midterms are still year and a half out, such polling demonstrates that control of Congress (particularly the House of Representatives) could come down to just a few races next year.
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