According to a survey from late December 2024, the two most important issues among Republican voters in the United States were inflation and immigration, with 25 and 22 percent ranking it their primary political concerns respectively. In contrast, only two percent of Democrats considered immigration their most important issue. Inflation and healthcare were the leading issues among democrats in the U.S.

A survey conducted in February 2025 found that the most important issue for 24 percent of Americans was inflation and prices. A further 12 percent of respondents were most concerned about jobs and the economy.

When considering who to vote for in the 2024 U.S. Presidential Election, the economy was the most important issue for more than half of Republicans, compared to only 14 percent of Democrats. Preserving democracy was the most important issue among Democrats when deciding who to vote for.

In a survey conducted between 2022 and 2023, stark divisions between Democrats and Republicans emerged on a number political issues. One of the most pronounced disparities was in regards to government responsibility for ensuring universal healthcare access, with less than one-third of Republicans in favor compared to 85 percent of Democrats. Furthermore, environmental protection emerged as another polarizing topic, with just 26 percent of Republicans prioritizing it over energy development, in contrast to the 81 percent of Democrats who regarded it as a top priority.

This statistic shows the results of a 2012 survey in the United States regarding the most important problems in the current U.S. economy. The respondents were sorted by political party. In 2012, 27 percent of democrats, 38 percent of republicans and 30 percent of independent voters stated that the economy in general was the most crucial problem for the United States.

March 1995: This survey was conducted by the Los Angeles Times from March 15-19, 1995 on a National sample of 1,007 registered voters. Major topics covered: Clinton job performance; party preference; US economy; Congress; Clinton in the 1996 election; abortion; Republican party politics; race relations; discrimination; affirmative action; Vietnam

October 1995: Right/wrong track; Bill Clinton job performance; party best able; Clinton vs. Congress; confidence in Congress; trusting government; government spending; economy; personal finances; political groups; favorability of political parties; two-party system; Hillary Rodham Clinton; welfare; environment; race relations; marriage; homosexual relations; Roe v. Wade; prayer in schools; moral climate; intolerance; immigration; United Nations; foreign policy; crime; assault weapons ban; own a handgun; on-line computer services; 1996 elections; third party; 1992 election; current employment; born again; the Bible.

February 1997: Direction of country; Bill Clinton job performance; congressional job performance; Clinton vs Republicans in Congress; issue with top priority; economy; Clinton impression; Newt Gingrich impression; State of the Union address; Clinton's proposals; balancing the budget; social security plans; financial health of the Medicare system; proposals to change Medicare; welfare reform bill; Clinton's ethics; Gingrich step down; Gingrich fine; Gingrich's punishment; Democratic National Committee; campaign finance reform bill; Clinton selling presidency; O.J. Simpson verdict; government medical insurance.

Please Note: This dataset is part of the historical CISER Data Archive Collection and is also available at the Roper Center for Public Opinion Research at https://doi.org/10.25940/ROPER-31093058 and https://doi.org/10.25940/ROPER-31093074. We highly recommend using the Roper Center version as they may make this dataset available in multiple data formats in the future.

This poll is part of a series of monthly surveys that solicit public opinion on the presidency and on a range of other political and social issues. Respondents were asked to give their opinions of President Bill Clinton and his handling of the presidency, the economy, foreign affairs, and the situation in Bosnia, as well as their views on Senate Majority Leader Bob Dole, retired General Colin Powell, Pope John Paul II, Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan, Jesse Jackson, former head of the NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of Colored People) Benjamin Chavis, and Ross Perot. Those queried were asked for their opinions on the 1996 presidential and congressional elections, the differences among the Republican, Democratic, and United We Stand parties, the possibility of a third-party victory, and the qualities of an effective president. Questions regarding the Roman Catholic Church addressed the role of the Pope and whether the church's positions on the following topics truly reflected the beliefs of its members: birth control, divorce, premarital sexual relations, homosexuals, priests and marriage, and female priests. Other topics covered the current state of Medicare, Republican plans to alter Medicare, and the Million Man March and the absence of women as participants in it. Background information includes age, sex, race, education, religion, political party, voter registration and participation history, family income, employment status, marital status, political orientation, Medicare coverage, and the demographics of the respondent's community.

This poll, conducted August 3-6, 2006, is part of a continuing series of monthly polls that solicit public opinion on the presidency and on a range of other political and social issues. Respondents were asked whether they approved of the way President George W. Bush was handling the presidency and issues such as the situation in Iraq and the economy. Those registered to vote were asked how closely they were following the upcoming congressional elections in November, whether they would vote for a Democrat or Republican candidate for the United States House of Representatives if the election were held that day, and which issue was most important in their vote. All respondents were polled on which political party they trusted to handle issues such as the United States campaign against terrorism, which party was more concerned with the needs of people like themselves, whether they approved of the way the United States Congress was handling its job, and whether the Democrats were offering a clear direction that was different from that of the Republicans. Views were also sought on the war in Iraq, whether Iraq was in a state of civil war, and whether the Bush Administration and the Democrats in the United States Congress had a clear plan for handling the situation. A series of questions regarding the conflict between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon asked which group was to more to blame, whether Israel was justified in bombing Hezbollah targets in civilian areas, whether Israel should agree to an immediate, unconditional cease-fire in Lebanon, whether the conflict would make Israel more secure from attacks, and whether it would help or hurt the situation for the United States in Iraq. Demographic variables include sex, age, race, education level, household income, political party affiliation, political philosophy, voter registration status, religious preference, and whether respondents considered themselves born-again or evangelical Christians.

The current political discourse in the United States focuses on extreme political polarization as a contributor to ills ranging from government shutdowns to awkward family holidays. And indeed, a large body of research has documented differences between liberals and conservatives–primarily focused on Republicans and Democrats in the United States. We combine large international surveys and more fine-grained surveys of United States citizens to compare differences in opinion between Republicans and Democrats to the full range of world opinion on moral issues (N = 37,653 in 39 countries) and issues of free speech (N = 40,786 in 38 countries). When viewed in the full distribution, polarization between Democrats and Republicans appears relatively small, even on divisive issues such as abortion, sexual preference, and freedom of religious speech. The average Democrat-Republic overlap is greater than 70% of the country pair overlaps across eight moral issues, meaning that 70% of the country pairs are more dissimilar from each other than Democrats and Republicans are dissimilar; similarly, the average Democrat-Republic overlap is greater than 79% of the country pair overlaps across five freedom of speech issues. These results suggest that cross-cultural comparisons are useful for putting differences between political partisans within the same country in context.

This poll is part of a continuing series of monthly surveys that solicit public opinion on the presidency and on a range of other political and social issues. Respondents were asked to give their opinions of President George W. Bush and his handling of the presidency, foreign policy, and the economy. In addition, respondents were asked to give their opinions of the current economy, and whether it was getting better or worse. Respondents were asked to rate the Democratic and Republican parties as favorable or unfavorable, to indicate whether they believed that Democrats or Republicans had clear plans for the United States and whether there were differences in what each party stood for, and to specify the most important difference between the two parties. Respondents were asked if they voted for United States House of Representatives, what issue was the most important in deciding their vote for House representatives, whether their vote for Congress was a vote for or against President Bush and his policies, whether they would vote for President Bush again in 2004, whether the Democrats should nominate Al Gore, whether they were pleased or disappointed by the outcome of the November elections, and whether it was better or worse to have a president from the same political party that controlled Congress. Respondents were asked to give their opinions on Republicans' control of Congress: whether the United States would be more secure from terrorist attacks, whether the economy would improve, whether taxes would increase or decrease, whether the respondents' families' financial situations would improve, whether big business would have more influence in Washington, whether federal courts would be more conservative, how likely war in Iraq was a result of Republican control in Congress, and whether environmental problems would improve. Respondents were asked how much they believed President Bush cared about their needs and problems and those of Blacks, whether they had confidence in President Bush to deal with an international crisis and the economy, whether his political views were liberal, moderate, or conservative, and whether the religious right had too much or too little influence on the Bush administration. Respondents were asked to give their opinions on tax issues, particularly on: whether the tax cuts were a good idea, whether the tax cuts made a difference in the amount of money retained after taxes, whether they believed the government could reduce the federal budget deficit while cutting taxes, whether they preferred a tax cut or reduced deficit, the effect of the tax cuts on the economy, who benefited most from the tax cuts, whether the tax cuts should be made permanent, and whether using the budget surplus to cut taxes was the best thing to do. Opinions were elicited regarding the environment: whether the federal government was doing enough regulating environmental and safety practices of business, whether requirements and standards can be set too high, whether or not the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska should be approved for oil drilling, whether producing energy or protecting the environment was more important, and what President Bush believed was more important. Respondents were asked whether Social Security would have money available upon their retirement, whether allowing individuals to invest their Social Security taxes on their own was a good idea, and whether the government should make up any losses incurred. On the subject of courts, respondents were asked whether newly court-appointed judges should be reviewed and confirmed by Congress, whether Congress should review and approve judges appointed by President Bush, and whether President Bush's nominees would be more conservative than tolerable. Regarding estate taxes, respondents were asked if they believed that there should be an estate tax for thelargest estates or no estate tax whatsoever, and whether they approved of President Bush's or the Democrats' proposal on estate taxes. Respondents were asked to give opinions on terrorism: whether the Bush administration had a clear plan, whether the government would fail to enact strong anti-terrorism laws or the new anti-terrorism laws would excessively restrict the average person's civil liberties, whether they were willing to allow government agencies to monitor phone calls and emails, and whether t

According to exit polls from the 2022 midterm election, voters who saw crime as the most important issue were more likely to vote for Republican candidates in the House of Representatives races. 57 percent of voters who said crime was the most important issue to their vote cast their vote for Republican candidates. Conversely, voters who prioritized abortion were more likely to vote for Democratic candidates. The midterm elections were held on November 8th, 2022.

This poll is part of a continuing series of monthly surveys that solicit public opinion on the presidency and on a range of other political and social issues. This survey, fielded July 27, 2000, is a call-back of the July 20-23, 2000, cohort (CBS NEWS/NEW YORK TIMES MONTHLY POLL #2, JULY 2000 [ICPSR 3121]), and was conducted to assess respondents' interest in and opinions about the 2000 presidential election, interest in the Republican and Democratic party conventions, readiness to vote in the upcoming election, and level of support for both candidates, Vice President Al Gore and Texas governor George W. Bush. Respondents were asked to give their opinions of President Bill Clinton and his handling of the presidency, foreign policy, and the economy, as well as their views on the way Congress was handling its job. They were also asked whether on the day of the survey they would vote for Al Gore or George W. Bush. Those polled answered the same question once more, this time choosing among four candidates: Al Gore (Democratic Party candidate), George W. Bush (Republican Party candidate), Pat Buchanan (Reform Party candidate), and Ralph Nader (Green Party candidate). A set of questions regarding Dick Cheney, the Republican Party vice presidential candidate, was posed, including whether respondents were glad that George W. Bush named Cheney as his running mate, whether Cheney's personality influenced their decision on taking part in the election, and whether Cheney had the experience necessary to be a good vice president. Those polled expressed their opinions about Bill Clinton, Al Gore, George W. Bush, Ralph Nader, Pat Buchanan, and Dick Cheney, as well as about their respective parties. Information was elicited on respondents' participation and candidate selection in the 1996 presidential election and in the 1998 House of Representatives election. In addition, respondents answered a set of questions comparing Al Gore and George W. Bush as presidential candidates with respect to their qualities of leadership, their understanding of the complex problems a president has to deal with (especially international), if they could be trusted to keep their word as president, if they shared the same moral values as most Americans, if they said what they believed or what people wanted to hear, and if they cared about people like the respondent. Other questions examined respondents' opinions about both candidates' views on the following subjects: the economy, abortion, taxes, the environment, and health care. Those polled also expressed their views about whether the Democratic Party or the Republican Party was more likely to ensure a strong economy, make sure that the tax system was fair, make sure United States military defenses were strong, make the right decisions about Social Security, improve the education and health care systems, protect the environment, and uphold traditional family values, and which party cared more about people like the respondent. The survey also questioned respondents on other issues, such as the most important problems for the government in the coming year and abortion. Background information on respondents includes age, gender, race/ethnic identity, education, religion, voter registration and participation history, political party affiliation, political orientation, marital status, age of children in the household, and income.

This survey probed for respondents' opinions of the Democratic and Republican candidates prior to the New Hampshire presidential primary on February 16. Respondents were asked who they wanted their party to nominate, if they agreed with candidates on the issues, which candidate would have the best chance of winning the presidential election, if they had been contacted by any of the candidates or seen advertisements, and which candidate did best in the New Hampshire debates. Republicans were asked if candidates were liberal, moderate, or conservative, and if George Bush was withholding information about the Iran-Contra affair. Democrats were asked if they wanted the Democrats to nominate someone who was not running, if Gary Hart knew about illegal contributions to his campaign, and what their opinion was of Dick Gephardt's import tax proposals. All respondents were asked about their attention to the campaign, previous voting behavior, and how they felt about the New Hampshire primary taking place after the Iowa caucuses. Other topics included the federal budget deficit, short-range nuclear missiles, the nuclear power plant at Seabrook, the state and national economies, and whether respondents wanted a president who would continue the policies of Ronald Reagan. Background information on individuals includes party affiliation, age, income, religious preference, education, and race.

According to a 2023 survey, young adults in the United States were politically divided when it came to important political issues. Among those planning to vote for a Republican candidate, more than two-thirds considered securing the border their most important issue. In contrast, securing the border was the most important issue for six percent of young Americans planning to vote for a Democratic candidate.

Affluent Americans used to vote for Republican politicians. Now they vote for Democrats. In this paper, I show detailed evidence for this decades-in-the-making trend and argue that it has important consequences for the U.S. politics of economic inequality and redistribution. Beginning in the 1990s, the Democratic Party has won increasing shares of rich, upper-middle income, high-income occupation, and stock-owning voters. This appears true across voters of all races and ethnicities, is concentrated among (but not exclusive to) college-educated voters, and is only true among voters living in larger metropolitan areas. In the 2010s, Democratic candidates' electoral appeal among affluent voters reached above-majority levels. I echo other scholars in maintaining that this trend is partially driven by increasingly “culturally liberal” views of educated voters and party elite polarization on those issues, but I additionally argue that the evolution and stasis of the parties' respective economic policy agendas has also been a necessary condition for the changing behavior of affluent voters. This reversal of an American politics truism means that the Democratic Party's attempts to cohere around an economically redistributive policy agenda in an era of rising inequality face real barriers.

This survey covers the following issues and topics: George W. Bush job performance (1); George W. Bush handling of issues (4); Opinions of people in the news (6); Government dealing with issues (14); Republicans or Democrats do a better job (14); Congress accomplish more or less (1); Goals for U.S. military (4); Follow news about Iraq (1); Favor or oppose removing Saddam Hussein (1); Iraq worth going to war (1); Best describes Iraq's weapon capability (1); How long would a war with Iraq last (1); How likely is it that the United States would win in Iraq (1); American's killed in war with Iraq (1); Worried about situation in the Persian Gulf (3); News about North Korea (1); North Korea resolved (1); Military action in North Korea (1); North Korea's military and weapons capabilities (1); Can U.S. fight two wars at once (1); Bigger threat to the U.S. (1); U.S. reinstate the draft (2); Democratic nomination for president in 2004 (1); Cloning illegal (1); George W. Bush policies (1); Economic proposals (6); Help economy (6); Help your family (6); Title IX (4); Sports fan (1); Job in construction (1).

With Abraham Lincoln's victory in the 1860 presidential election, the Republican Party cemented its position as one of the two major political parties in the United States. Since 1860, candidates from both parties have faced one another in 41 elections, with the Republican candidate winning 24 elections, to the Democrats' 17. The share of electoral college votes is often very different from the share of the popular vote received by each candidate in the elections, as the popular vote differences tend to be much smaller. Electoral college system In the U.S., the electoral college system is used to elect the president. For most states, this means that the most popular candidate in each state then receives that state's allocation of electoral votes (which is determined by the state's population). In the majority of elections, the margin of electoral votes has been over thirty percent between the two major party candidates, and there were even some cases where the winner received over ninety percent more electoral votes than the runner-up. Biggest winners The largest margins for the Republican Party occurred in the aftermath of the American Civil War, in the pre-Depression era of the 1920s, with Eisenhower after the Second World War, and then again with the Nixon, Reagan, and Bush campaigns in the 1970s and 80s. For the Democratic Party, the largest victories occurred during the First and Second World Wars, and for Lindon B. Johnson and Bill Clinton in the second half of the 20th century. In the past six elections, the results of the electoral college vote have been relatively close, compared with the preceding hundred years; George W. Bush's victories were by less than seven percent, Obama's victories were larger (by around thirty percent), and in the most recent elections involving Donald Trump he both won and lost by roughly 14 percent.

Deepening partisan polarization has caused extreme discontent with the existing two-party system. But despite bipartisan concerns about third party vote splitting, there has been little attempt to measure the policy preferences of current Republicans and Democrats who want a third party alternative to the two dominant parties. From April 19 to May 1, 2022, we surveyed 1,862 American adults to determine if these “disaffected partisans” are more or less polarized. First, we confirm previous findings that most Americans — Republicans and Democrats alike — now say a third party is needed. For 14 different issues, we then compare the policy preferences of partisans who think a third party is needed and those who do not. Contrary to the popular narrative that disaffected partisans might converge around a centrist or moderate third party, we find that disaffected partisans are just as polarized or more on most issues.

This poll, fielded January 30-February 1, 1999, is part of a continuing series of monthly surveys that solicit public opinion on the presidency and on a range of other political and social issues. Respondents were asked to give their opinions of President Bill Clinton, the United States Congress, Vice President Al Gore, Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott, House Judiciary Committee Chairman Henry Hyde, Special Prosecutor Kenneth Starr, former White House intern Monica Lewinsky, and the Republican and Democratic parties. Respondents were next asked a series of questions comparing the two main political parties, including which party had better ideas for both solving the nation's current problems and for leading the country into the 21st century, as well as which party was better at upholding traditional family values. Opinions were also elicited as to which party was the more likely to make the right decisions about Social Security, to improve education and the health care system, and to reduce taxes and crime. Respondents were also asked how they would recommend that Congress use the budget surplus projected over the coming years, including cutting taxes, paying down the national debt, and preserving programs like Medicare and Social Security. Particular emphasis was given in this poll to the Senate impeachment trial of President Clinton. Respondents were queried as to how closely they were following the news of the trial, whether they approved of the Senate's handling of the matter, and what their expectations were for the length of the trial. Opinions were elicited on the need for witness testimony, whether President Clinton's actions were serious enough to warrant removal from office, and the constitutional necessity of a final Senate vote. Other questions focused on each political party's role in the impeachment matter, whether the parties were working in a partisan manner, whether the parties' actions would help or hurt their respective images and prospects in the 2000 election, and whether House or Senate members of each party handled themselves more responsibly. Respondents were also asked whether they had learned anything new from the trial, whether the Senate should take into account public opinion when making their decisions, how the respondent wanted his or her senator to vote, and whether the respondents cared about the outcome. Finally, respondents were asked for their predictions as to whether President Clinton would be removed from office and, if not, whether he could still remain effective as president. Attention was also directed toward the Republican party, in terms of whether it was out of touch with the American people--or even rank and file Republicans--on the impeachment matter, and whether the party was too conservative. Background information on respondents includes age, race, sex, education, religion, marital status, political party, political orientation, recent voting history, and family income.

This poll is part of a continuing series of monthly surveys that solicit respondents' opinions on the presidency and on a range of other political and social issues. Respondents were asked whether they approved of Bush's handling of the presidency, the economy, and foreign affairs, how closely they were following the 1992 presidential race, for whom they would vote if the 1992 presidential election were held that day, and whether they were leaning toward Bush, Clinton, or Perot. Other questions related to the 1992 presidential candidates included whether they were qualified, whether any of them should definitely not be voted for under any circumstances, which candidate's policies would make the respondent better off financially, whether the respondent had a good idea of where each candidate planned to lead the nation in the next four years, whether the respondent had heard or read about Clinton's economic plan and approved of it, and whether Perot's candidacy was a good thing for the country. Additionally, the survey assessed Jesse Jackson's role in the Democratic party and whether he should be on the Democratic ticket as the vice-presidential nominee, Clinton's treatment of Jackson, the political party best able to cope with the main problems the nation faces, whether the government would work better if all new people were elected, and how the respondent felt about the way the federal government works. Respondents also indicated their approval or disapproval of various proposals, including raising taxes to reduce the budget deficit, tax cuts for business to stimulate the economy, tax cuts for middle-income Americans, and a program of National Health Insurance funded by an increase in taxes. Other questions dealt with whether the Democratic and Republican parties were gaining or losing power and influence nationally, whether the current system used by the Democratic and Republican parties to select their presidential nominees was satisfactory, the respondent's support for the inclusion of various proposals in the Democratic Party platform, and what the respondent would most like to see as a result of the 1992 election with respect to the possible combinations of a Republican or Democratic president with a Republican or Democratic majority in Congress. Background information on respondents includes political alignment, voter registration status, likelihood of voting in the 1992 presidential election, most recent presidential vote choice, social class, marital status, household composition, labor union membership, employment status, household income, area of residence, age, education, religion, race, and sex.