Scott Rasmussen's Number of the Day for January 27, 2026
The Number of the Day columns published on Ballotpedia reflect the views of the author.
January 27, 2026: Seventeen percent (17%) of voters say most federal spending is waste and fraud. A Napolitan News Service national survey conducted by RMG Research found 43% say a lot of federal spending is waste and fraud, 26% say some, and 7% say not very much.
The survey also found 42% say it is possible to balance the federal budget simply by eliminating government waste and fraud. Thirty-four percent (34%) disagree.
Methodology
The survey of 1,000 registered voters was conducted online by Scott Rasmussen on January 19-20, 2025. Fieldwork for the survey was conducted by RMG Research, Inc. Certain quotas were applied, and the sample was lightly weighted by geography, gender, age, race, education, internet usage, and political party to reasonably reflect the nation’s population of registered voters. Other variables were reviewed to ensure that the final sample is representative of that population. The margin of sampling error for the full sample is +/- 3.1 percentage points.
Scott Rasmussen is the president of RMG Research, Inc. and founder of the Napolitan Institute.
Survey questions
How much federal spending is waste and fraud?
- 17%-Most
- 43%-A lot
- 26%-Some
- 7%-Not very much
- 7%-Not sure
Is it possible to balance the federal budget simply by eliminating government waste and fraud?
- 42%-Yes
- 34%-No
- 24%-Not sure
Each weekday, Scott Rasmussen’s Number of the Day explores interesting and newsworthy topics at the intersection of culture, politics, and technology.
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- January 22, 2026-4% of voters rate America’s health care system as excellent
- January 21, 2026-16% of voters say Congress has far too much power
- January 20, 2026-12% of voters say America is much safer today than it was a year ago
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Columns published on Ballotpedia reflect the views of the author.
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See also
Footnotes
