With just two months until the midterm elections, voters across party lines are looking for candidates who are willing to take on corruption, hold powerful abusers accountable and demand the full release of the Epstein files.
Editor’s note: The Donald J. Trump and Jeffrey Epstein Memorial Reading Room—a traveling exhibit that organizes the 3.5 million pages of DOJ’s released Epstein files into 3,437 bound books—is on tour. Five cities will host the full Reading Room; the smaller Bookmobile will visit 20+ more along the way. Explore the full tour schedule.
Originally published by COURIER on Sept. 3, 2026.
A new nationwide poll conducted by public opinion research firm GBAO and released Wednesday by COURIER and Reckoning Action found that 88 percent of Americans who plan to vote in the midterms, including 83 percent of Republican voters, will prioritize candidates who promise to hold powerful people accountable, including through the release of the full Epstein files.
Justice for Epstein’s victims ranked higher for voters than almost every other issue, including healthcare, affordability, immigration, public safety and the Iran War.
The issue could complicate President Donald Trump’s efforts to boost his endorsed midterm candidates: Three out of four respondents who voted for Trump in 2024 said justice for Epstein’s victims and accountability for his co-conspirators would be a top factor when filling out their ballots.
… Only half of the 6 million records from the government’s case files on Epstein have been released, and the U.S. Department of Justice has failed to provide Congress with explanations for redactions and omissions as required by law.
“For months, Americans across the political spectrum have seen the release of the Epstein files completely mishandled, the privacy and the safety of survivors disregarded, and justice routinely denied. Now, voters across party lines are drawing a line and making it clear: This issue will be a critical determining factor in their midterm vote,” said Cheyenne Hunt, executive director for Reckoning Action. “To every candidate hoping to earn the trust of voters ahead of November, know this: If you have been in any way complicit with this cover-up, or if you are unwilling to take a stand for justice, voters will not forget.”
When asked about a candidate’s message to voters, addressing justice for Epstein’s victims had a 17-point advantage over the Iran War and ranked 15 points higher than messaging around transgender issues, two of President Trump’s primary talking points. The only issue ranked higher was corruption, a term voters are beginning to see as synonymous with Trump and his supporters in Congress.
Releasing the Epstein files became a national priority in 2025, as the Trump administration became engrossed in an apparent cover-up of the records, what they contained, and who they might implicate. The most grievous transgressions include secret meetings in the Situation Room; moving Epstein’s convicted co-conspirator Ghislaine Maxwell to a low-security prison; holding a fake Epstein files release party with far-right media personalities; and closing its investigation into Epstein without additional prosecutions after a hasty review of less than 7 percent of the DOJ’s investigative files.
In lieu of executive accountability, the public turned to Congress. Pressure from voters grew so intense that the bipartisan Epstein Files Transparency Act (EFTA) passed with virtually unanimous support.
But the new polling suggests that voters may now turn to the ballot box to punish those they believe have failed to ensure the law is upheld. To date, only half of the 6 million records from the government’s case files on Epstein have been released, and the U.S. Department of Justice has failed to provide Congress with explanations for redactions and omissions as required by law.
The full release of the Epstein files will take a Congress willing to use its power to force the DOJ to comply with the law, as Attorney General Todd Blanche has stonewalled any attempts to do so. Senate Republicans approved Blanche’s nomination to his role in August, despite pleas from survivors of Epstein’s abuse to reject him. Blanche took lead on the Epstein investigation in 2025, members of Congress currently investigating his handling of the case say his priority has been to protect the president every step of the way.
“He is the chief architect of the cover-up that the White House is engaging in to prevent the disclosure of files,” said Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-Ill.), to prevent the disclosure of any information that might implicate Donald Trump.”
Some candidates have taken note of the salience of this issue and are already running campaign ads attacking opponents who have failed to deliver accountability on Epstein.
Democratic candidates Mary Peltola in Alaska and Sen. Jon Ossoff in Georgia have criticized their opponents for initially voting against releasing the Epstein files. Sherrod Brown in Ohio went a step further, highlighting donations Sen. Jon Husted received from billionaire Les Wexner, whose wealth financed Epstein’s criminal network for over a decade.
Others, like James Talarico in Texas, have used past records of leniency for perpetrators of sexual assault as an example of enabling abusers like Epstein.
In Arizona, Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs released a scathing television ad putting Republican candidate Rep. Andy Biggs’ record on Epstein front and center. While Biggs voted to pass the EFTA, he voted against the House Oversight Committee’s subpoena to obtain the full, unredacted files, and has been absent from the committee’s investigation into Epstein’s criminal network.
Hobbs also tied Biggs’ inaction on Epstein to his record on other related issues as a state legislator, including voting against funding to investigate sexual abuse crimes and supporting protections for a fundamentalist cult known to be a hotbed of domestic violence and child abuse.
Republicans, in contrast, have largely kept Epstein out of their campaigns. The few attempts to counter accusations of taking cash from the “Epstein class” have either been disproved or backfired.
Another finding from the COURIER/Reckoning Action poll: The more closely an issue aligned with Epstein’s crimes and the questions surrounding the case, the more likely voters were to rank it as a concern.
Of the 15 issues tested, five were considered top concerns by over 80 percent of respondents: child abuse, government corruption, abuse of power, those in power avoiding accountability and human trafficking as the top five concerns.
Among the issues of least concern were several Trump sees as his strengths: immigration, transgender athletes and public safety.
With control of Congress in the balance this fall, the president, administration and candidates across the political spectrum will all have to contend with the simple fact that the Epstein cover-up isn’t going away.
