Wasta is an important means of connection between citizens and political leaders in Jordan and many Arab countries. An informal political practice that roughly equates to influence or favoritism, Jordanians often complain that “having wasta” is all but essential in many types of interaction between citizens and government officials. Research so far has examined the indispensable role of wasta in gaining employment (e.g., Cunningham and Sarayrah 1993) and doing business (Loewe, Blume, & Speer 2008). Others have analyzed wasta’s political impact in binding Jordan’s tribes to the monarchy (Al Ramahi 2008) and as a form of electoral clientelism (e.g., Lust 2009). Despite ample anecdotal evidence that Jordanians have strong views on wasta, however, little research has examined public opinion on this ubiquitous political practice. In this paper, I argue that wasta plays an important role in shaping Jordanian attitudes toward their political system and their elected leaders. I use several waves of Arab Barometer survey data from Jordan, covering the time period 2010-2016, to conduct a series of logistic regressions examining the relationship between Jordanian perceptions of wasta and attitudes toward the political system. I show that the more likely Jordanians are to feel that wasta is needed to get things done in their country, the more likely they are to report feeling that citizens have no ability to impact politics, and the more likely they are to rate the effectiveness of Jordan’s parliament negatively. The presence of wasta, it seems, leads Jordanians to feel more alienated from the political life of their country. After the Arab Spring, and particularly after Jordan’s wave of protests in the summer of 2018, questions about whether Jordanians can express their political grievances and can expect their leaders to make corresponding changes have only grown more salient. This paper helps us to understand these critical dynamics, and points to a need for greater research into the role wasta plays in shaping the political challenges Jordan faces.