The following is from Rasmussen Reports.

Republicans hold an eight-point advantage over Democrats on the issue of national security, while the two parties are tied on energy policy, according to a new Rasmussen Reports survey.

Forty-eight percent (48%) of likely US voters say they trust Republicans more to handle national security issues, while 40% say they trust Democrats more and 12% say they are not sure.

On energy policy, the parties are evenly split. Forty-seven percent (47%) say they trust Republicans more to handle energy policy, while 47% say they trust Democrats more.

Among voters who say they trust Republicans more on national security, 89% also say they trust the GOP more on energy policy. Among those who trust Democrats more on energy policy, 85% also say they trust Democrats more on national security.

Among voters not affiliated with either major party, 47% say they trust Republicans more on both national security and energy policy. Significantly fewer unaffiliated voters say they trust Democrats more on national security than on energy policy.

The survey of 1,130 likely US voters was conducted February 15–17, 2026. The margin of sampling error is plus or minus 3 percentage points.

To view survey question wording, click here.