There Are Many Things Americans Voters Agree On From Fears About

Leo Migdal

-Dec 3, 2025, 9:49 PM

there are many things americans voters agree on from fears about

Research Fellow, Digital Speech Lab, UCL Emma Connolly does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment. University College London provides funding as a founding partner of The Conversation UK. During his recent public spat with Donald Trump, Elon Musk tweeted a poll asking if a new political party would better represent the 80% of voters in the middle. Hundreds of thousands of people responded and more than 80% answered “yes”. The middle is still overlooked in US politics.

This is because there is a perception that Republicans and Democrats have nothing in common, and therefore no issue will win support from both centrist Republicans and Democrats. WASHINGTON, D.C. — Eight in 10 U.S. adults agree on a variety of issues that reflect core aspects of U.S. democracy. These include that using violence to achieve political goals is never OK; that elected leaders should compromise to get things done; and that having a mix of races, religions and cultures benefits the nation.

Americans also express a desire to limit the political influence of wealthy individuals and businesses and believe there is a difference between facts and opinions. These findings are the first from the Kettering Foundation/Gallup Democracy for All Project and are based on a multimodal (web and mail) survey of over 20,000 U.S. adults, conducted July 7 to Aug. 25. This is a five-year project designed to measure Americans’ views of how well democracy serves the U.S. and Americans from a variety of different backgrounds.

The full report details how Americans largely agree that democracy is the best form of government but do not believe it is functioning well right now. As part of the survey, Americans were shown five pairs of contrasting perspectives on how democracy and U.S. society should function and were asked to choose which perspective comes closer to their view. Large majorities of all key subgroups of Americans reject violence, favor compromise and embrace a multicultural society. There are modest differences in some of these views by party, age and education. For example, Democrats, independents and college graduates are somewhat more likely than Republicans and non-college graduates to see multiculturalism as a strength.

Older Americans and Democrats are more likely than younger Americans and Republicans to endorse compromise. Age differences are even more pronounced when it comes to rejecting the use of political violence, with senior citizens most opposed and young adults the least. This relationship will be explored in more depth in an article to be released next week. Another question in the survey, asked on a five-point agree/disagree scale, finds that eight in 10 Americans strongly agree (39%) or agree (41%) that everyone, regardless of their views, has the right to free,... Just 5% disagree, and 15% are neutral. A new study from the SNF Agora Institute at Johns Hopkins University and Public Agenda finds that Americans are deeply concerned about the state of U.S.

democracy and that growing divisions within the Republican Party deepen partisan divides over how the Constitution should guide presidential authority and the balance of power. The report draws from a national survey of 4,500 Americans, earlier polling, and three focus groups with Republican participants. It builds on prior SNF Agora research documenting Republican disagreement about the legitimacy of the 2020 election. It shows that these differences now extend to views of presidential power, constitutional limits, elections, and trust in government. The research identifies three distinct groups within the Republican Party: "Americans share deep concern for our democracy, but we do not all have the same reasons," said Andrew Seligsohn, president of Public Agenda.

"Republicans in particular are divided between those who support unfettered presidential power and those who believe checks and balances are essential to the integrity of our constitutional order. These differences represent a deep cleavage in the Republican Party with consequences for the future of American democracy." Across parties, most Americans express concern about U.S. democracy: Fear of another Trump presidency is pushing some undecided voters toward Biden. While it's practically a given that economic issues rank as the most important to voters, and policy issues like immigration and public safety have surged in salience over the past year, there's another issue...

Voters were evenly split when asked in a January YouGov/CBS News poll whether having a strong economy or having a functioning democracy was a bigger concern in the coming years, and research from Ipsos... Overall, polls have consistently shown that both Democrats and Republicans think democracy is at risk in the coming election, but largely for different reasons. Partnering with 538, nonpartisan research firm PerryUndem recently conducted a set of focus groups with swing-state voters who identified as undecided ahead of the 2024 presidential election — one group leaning toward voting for... As we did with our focus group questions about "the economy," we asked these voters what they meant when they expressed concerns about "democracy," and how those concerns impacted their decision-making on whom to... These focus groups found that the economy was indeed top of mind for undecided voters, and that those leaning toward Trump thought the economy was a point of strength for him … but Biden... Democracy turned out to be key in answering why those voters were inclined to vote for Biden nonetheless, as their differing opinions on what factors posed the biggest threat to democracy drove each group...

During his recent public spat with Donald Trump, Elon Musk tweeted a poll asking if a new political party would better represent the 80% of voters in the middle. Hundreds of thousands of people responded and more than 80% answered “yes”. The middle is still overlooked in US politics. This is because there is a perception that Republicans and Democrats have nothing in common, and therefore no issue will win support from both centrist Republicans and Democrats. Polarisation is problematic as it is linked to “democratic backsliding” – the use of underhand tactics in political processes. Worst of all, it poses a threat to democracy.

Many think that polarisation is fuelled by echo chambers created on social media platforms. These only expose people to beliefs similar to their own. However, I study how narratives emerge on social media, and ways to investigate them. My work has two aims: first, to identify political issues that are likely to cross party lines, and a wider goal of exploring the role of social media in mitigating, rather than exacerbating, levels... The economy is the single most important issue for voters, according to the first results from a new Newsweek tracker poll that asked Americans their views on key 2024 election issues. That's one of the central findings from Newsweek's sentiment tracker carried out by Redfield & Wilton Strategies under a new partnership announced on July 14.

The tracker will chart opinions on a range of issues affecting voters' daily lives, engaging readers on topics including the war in Ukraine, healthcare, gun control, inflation and public education, among others. The survey was conducted on July 15 and July 16 among 1,500 eligible U.S. voters. "I would like to draw attention to the nuances of public opinion that we can already see in this first poll," said Philip van Scheltinga, director of research at Redfield & Wilton Strategies. Director, American Communities Project, Michigan State University Manager, American Communities Project, Michigan State University

Dante Chinni receives funding from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation for his work on the American Communities Project and is a contributor to the Wall Street Journal. Ari Pinkus receives funding from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation for the American Communities Project. Michigan State University provides funding as a founding partner of The Conversation US.

There Are Many Things Americans Voters Agree On From Fears About

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