On behalf of United For Cures Action, Public Opinion Strategies surveyed 1,200 registered voters in Iowa, Kansas, and Ohio, with N=400 interviews in each state. The survey was conducted September 30-October 8, 2026, and the credibility interval for the full survey is +3.23%.
Medical research remains a clear bipartisan priority for American voters. Across party lines, voters recognize the importance of sustained federal investment in research that delivers lifesaving treatments and cures, protects America's global leadership, and drives progress for patients and families.
KEY FINDINGS
Voters in these states say that federally funded medical research has had a real impact on the development of breakthrough cures and treatments.
One half (50%) of voters say federally funded medical research has had a great deal of impact on finding breakthrough cures and treatments, with another 41% saying it has had some impact. Just 10% say it has had little impact or no impact at all.
A clear majority of voters say the federal government spends too little on medical research.
Fully 64% of voters in these states say the federal government spends too little on medical research, and an additional 29% say it spends just the right amount. Only 7% say the federal government spends too much on medical research.
Voters decidedly oppose the proposed changes to how federal grants are handled.
Survey respondents read the following:
The Office of Management and Budget has proposed changing how federal grants are handled. Currently, most grant decisions are made by non-political employees at the agencies that award them, such as the National Cancer Institute. Under the new proposal, political appointees would have to approve grants to state and local governments and to non-profit organizations such as hospitals, as well as to colleges and universities for medical research, and could cancel them at any time.
Would you favor or oppose any President - now or in the future -Democrat or Republican, and their political appointees having the final word on the awarding and canceling federal grants?
Across the three states, 76% of voters oppose this change (41% strongly), while 24% favor it (5% strongly).
Opposition is remarkably consistent across the three states: 77% oppose/23% favor in Iowa, 77%/23% in Kansas, and 75%/25% in Ohio.
Opposition crosses party lines, with 88% of Democrats, 82% of Independents, and 64% of Republicans opposed.
BOTTOM LINE
More than three-in-four voters oppose it, and opposition is very strong. Voters clearly do not want increased political interference with federal grants from EITHER party.