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Toplines - Veteran Action March 2026

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Survey of 1516 US Military Likely Voters

Conducted February 27 - March 17, 2026 By Rasmussen Reports and Veteran Action

 

1.     Right Direction

 

53% Right Direction

44% Wrong Track

  3% Not sure

 

2.     Have you ever served, or are you currently serving in, the armed forces of the United States of America?

 

85% Previously served

15% Currently serving

 

3.     While serving in the military, did you ever attain the rank of officer?

 

25% Yes

73% No

  2% Not sure

 

4.     How long did you serve in the US military, including time, if any, in the reserves?

 

35% 0-4 years

33% 4-8 years

12% 8-12 years

  8% 12-20 years

  8% 20-30 years

  2% 30+

  2% Not sure

 

5.     Who did you vote for in the 2024 Presidential Election? Vice President Kamala Harris or Former President Donald Trump?

 

32% Harris

61% Trump

  3% Other

  3% Didn't vote

  0% Not sure

 

6.     Who did you vote for in the 2020 Presidential Election? Joe Biden or Donald Trump?

 

34% Biden

60% Trump

  4% Other

  3% Didn't vote

  0% Not sure

 

7.     If the election for Congress were held today, who would you vote for?

 

35% Democrat

57% Republican

  8% Other / not sure

8.      Please tell me, when thinking about elections, which of these is the most important to you?

 

16% Crime and public safety

22% Jobs and economy

11% National debt and government spending

23% Inflation and the rising cost of living

  4% Environment and climate change

13% Immigration and the border

  6% Global conflicts & war

  2% Education

  3% Some other issue

  2% Not sure

 

9.     When thinking about the issues that affect veterans, which of these is more important to you?

 

30% Mental health and suicide prevention

34% Healthcare access

18% Homelessness

  4% Toxic exposure

  8% Benefits processing

  3% Some other issue

  4% Not sure

 

10.  Trump Approval

 

38% Strongly approve

22% Somewhat approve

10% Somewhat disapprove

30% Strongly disapprove

  1% Not sure

 

11.  Hegseth Approval

 

36% Strongly approve

20% Somewhat approve

12% Somewhat disapprove

25% Strongly disapprove

  7% Not sure

 

12.  Collins Approval

 

27% Strongly approve

30% Somewhat approve

15% Somewhat disapprove

14% Strongly disapprove

14% Not sure

 

13.  From what you know, how would you rate the overall quality of the benefits and services military veterans receive from the Department of Veterans Affairs?

 

18% Excellent

39% Good

26% Fair

13% Poor

  3% Not sure

 

14.  How would you rate the way that the Trump administration is handling issues related to veterans?

 

25% Excellent

28% Good

15% Fair

28% Poor

  3% Not sure

 

15.  Support or oppose veterans receiving healthcare in the community if the Veterans Affairs can’t see them in a timeline manner.

 

65% Strongly support

22% Somewhat support

  5% Somewhat oppose

  3% Strongly oppose

  4% Not sure

 

16.  Support or oppose requiring the Veterans Affairs to screen veterans seeking mental healthcare treatment within 48 hours.

 

61% Strongly support

25% Somewhat support

  7% Somewhat oppose

  3% Strongly oppose

  5% Not sure

 

17.  Support or oppose giving veterans access to an online portal to request appointments, track referrals and file appeals

 

69% Strongly support

22% Somewhat support

  4% Somewhat oppose

  2% Strongly oppose

  3% Not sure

 

18.  Support or oppose veterans being clearly informed of their existing rights for Veterans Affairs healthcare, benefits, and services?

76% Strongly support

16% Somewhat support

  5% Somewhat oppose

  2% Strongly oppose

  2% Not sure

 

19.  If these three issues were combined into a bill called the Veterans’ ACCESS Act, would you be more likely or less likely to support a candidate who supported the ACCESS act?

 

75% More likely

10% Less likely

10% Wouldn't make much difference

  5% Not sure

 

20.  Would you support or oppose a bill called the Veterans’ Bill of Rights Act that would legally direct the VA to be more explicit in informing veterans of the rights they already have for healthcare, benefits and services?

 

74% Strongly support

20% Somewhat support

  4% Somewhat oppose

  1% Strongly oppose

  2% Not sure

 

21.  Would you support or oppose giving veterans the choice to use their VA healthcare benefits at medical facilities or health care providers outside of the VA systems?

 

69% Strongly support

21% Somewhat support

  6% Somewhat oppose

  3% Strongly oppose

  2% Not sure

 

22.  Support or oppose President Trump increasing the defense department budget 50% to $1.5 trillion.

 

40% Strongly support

26% Somewhat support

14% Somewhat oppose

15% Strongly oppose

  5% Not sure

 

23.  Support or oppose auditing the Pentagon and Department of Defense budget.

 

55% Strongly support

28% Somewhat support

  9% Somewhat oppose

  4% Strongly oppose

   4% Not sure

 

24.  Support or oppose passing the SAVE Act which would require voter ID in elections?

 

56% Strongly support

19% Somewhat support

  8% Somewhat oppose

14% Strongly oppose

  3% Not sure

 

25.  Support or oppose meaningful US military action against Iran?

 

39% Strongly support

22% Somewhat support

15% Somewhat oppose

18% Strongly oppose

  6% Not sure

26.  Would you be concerned to find out that over 70% of overseas ballots cast are civilian, and not members of the armed forces, and the proportion of military votes is going down?

 

44% Very concerned

34% Somewhat concerned

12% Not very concerned

  6% Not at all concerned

  4% Not sure

 

27.  Would you be concerned to find out that only 23% of active duty military members returned absentee ballots in the 2024 presidential election?

 

50% Very concerned

32% Somewhat concerned

11% Not very concerned

  5% Not at all concerned

  3% Not sure

 

28.  Would you be concerned to find out that it is alleged many overseas civilians can vote remotely in states they never resided in?

 

53% Very concerned

25% Somewhat concerned

11% Not very concerned

  6% Not at all concerned

  5% Not sure

 

29.  Would you support the Protect Our Warriors Election Rights Act (POWER ACT) that provides training and process improvements to make it easier for deployed service members to vote while strengthening overseas voting integrity?

 

65% Strongly support

23% Somewhat support

  5% Somewhat oppose

  2% Strongly oppose

  5% Not sure

 

NOTE: Margin of Sampling Error, +/- 3 percentage points with a 95% level of confidence