The people’s priorities. Your public commitment.
A simple commitment for candidates at every level of government.
National polling establishes the baseline. Credible local polling and constituency surveys refine what people need and the action they expect. The Public Trust Candidate Covenant puts a candidate’s commitment to those priorities on the record.
What people want addressed
Ten priority areas drawn from recent national polls. They are not a single poll’s ranked top ten and are listed in no rank order. The short descriptions are PHIERS framing. Concern about an issue is not agreement with any particular solution.
- Cost of living: food, housing, and household bills.
- Affordable healthcare: access to complete, affordable care.
- Democracy and elections: lawful voting, accurate counting, and certification.
- Education and children: strong schools and whole-child support.
- Immigration: workable policy and lawful due process.
- War and peace: de-escalation and accountable use of war powers.
- Fuel and energy: affordable, reliable energy and relief from fuel costs.
- Community safety: violence prevention and effective public safety.
- Government and public trust: accountable spending and scrutiny of wrongdoing.
- Jobs and opportunity: paid work, training, and local enterprise.
How the list was built: PHIERS grouped issues that rank high in at least one of the national polls above into ten areas. No single poll asked about all ten in the same way, so the polls are not combined into a ranking. Local findings for Sacramento are not yet available and will be added when credible local polling or constituency survey results exist. Minority views and survey methods will be disclosed with any local results.
Polling signal for each area
- Cost of living. Pew: 73% very concerned about food and consumer-goods prices; 66% about housing costs. AP-NORC: 84% name cost of living a top issue.
- Affordable healthcare. Pew: 68% of registered voters call health care very important to their vote; 69% of adults very concerned about health care costs. AP-NORC: 69%.
- Democracy and elections. Pew: 73% of registered voters call the future of democracy very important to their vote.
- Education and children. Pew: 62% of registered voters call education very important to their vote.
- Immigration. Pew: 59% of registered voters call immigration very important. AP-NORC: 45% say immigration and crime are among the most important issues.
- War and peace. AP-NORC: 64% name the war with Iran a top issue. Pew: 57% of registered voters call foreign policy very important.
- Fuel and energy. Pew: 74% very concerned about gasoline and energy prices; 54% of registered voters call energy policy very important.
- Community safety. Pew: 52% of registered voters call violent crime very important. AP-NORC: 45% say immigration and crime are among the most important issues.
- Government and public trust. Pew: 43% of registered voters call the size and scope of the federal government very important. The emphasis on accountable spending and scrutiny of wrongdoing is PHIERS framing, not a poll finding.
- Jobs and opportunity. Pew: 48% very concerned about people who want to work being unable to find jobs.
Sources
- Pew Research Center, “Economy ranks as top issue in midterms for all voters, but partisans differ over the importance of other issues” Published October 8, 2026. American Trends Panel online survey, September 28–October 4, 2026; 5,062 U.S. adults including 3,917 registered voters; margin of error ±1.6 points for the full sample. Figures used: share of registered voters calling each issue “very important” to their vote.https://www.pewresearch.org/politics/2026/10/08/economy-ranks-as-top-issue-in-midterms-for-all-voters-but-partisans-differ-over-the-importance-of-other-issues/
- Pew Research Center, “Cost concerns dominate as public’s economic ratings turn more negative” Published October 8, 2026. Same survey (September 28–October 4, 2026; 5,062 U.S. adults). Figures used: share of adults “very concerned” about each cost or economic issue.https://www.pewresearch.org/politics/2026/10/08/cost-concerns-dominate-as-publics-economic-ratings-turn-more-negative/
- AP-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research, “Ahead of the midterms, most voters cite the economy and cost of living as top issues and favor political change” Published October 15, 2026. AmeriSpeak panel, October 8–12, 2026; 1,119 U.S. adults; margin of error ±3.9 points. The release headline says “voters”; the sample is adults. Figures used: share naming each issue among their top issues.https://apnorc.org/projects/ahead-of-the-midterms-most-voters-cite-the-economy-and-cost-of-living-as-top-issues-and-favor-political-change/
- Gallup, “Democrats’ advantage in party image, issues” Published October 13, 2026. Telephone survey, September 1–17, 2026; 1,000 U.S. adults; margin of error ±4 points. Context only: this poll measures which party the public trusts and views favorably. It does not rank issues, and no priority area above relies on it.https://news.gallup.com/poll/715523/democrats-advantage-party-image-issues.aspx
The Public Trust Candidate Covenant
Dated October 22, 2026 · Version candidate-covenant-v1-2026-10-22
I commit to pursue the priorities of the people I seek to represent, as documented through credible public polling and constituency surveys.
I will use the lawful powers of the office I seek to turn those priorities into specific public commitments and action, and I will publicly account for my follow-through.
When I disagree with a requested action, or cannot deliver it, I will explain why and identify the next steps I can take.
My constituents will be able to compare my commitments, actions, and results through the PHIERS Accountability Model.
PAM: PHIERS Accountability Model—tracking public commitments, actions, and results.
This standard is offered equally to candidates of every party. Candidates commit to accountable representation; individual policy proposals receive explicit consideration rather than automatic endorsement.
Signing is voluntary. The same Covenant is offered to candidates of every party. Signing is not a PHIERS endorsement of any candidate.
Candidates who have signed
A candidate appears here only after signing and agreeing to be listed. Signatures are listed only after PHIERS approves them. A candidate who is not listed has not necessarily declined.
No candidate signatures have been verified yet.
Sign the Candidate Covenant
For candidates only. Constituents can answer the Survey or sign the Public Trust Petition instead.
Invite another candidate to meet the same standard.
After signing, invite your opponent and other candidates to read the same Covenant and decide publicly whether they will sign. Share the page with your supporters and invite them to identify their priorities.
I invite you to read the PHIERS Public Trust Candidate Covenant and decide publicly whether you will sign: /civic-action/candidate-covenant
Candidates sign the Public Trust Candidate Covenant. Constituents can separately answer the Survey or sign the Public Trust Petition. Each action has separate consent.
Survey = Direction. Petition = Strength. Covenant = Commitment. PAM = Accountability.
Sitting officials can act now. Constituents can organize and request action before the election.