Tuned-Out Middle: Tuning out of politics and the news, but not on key issues
% who say …
| Leftward Progressives | |
| Loyal Liberals | |
| Left-Out Left |
| Order and Opportunity Left | |
| Tuned-Out Middle | |
| Pragmatic and Polite Right |
| Unconventional Right | |
| Faith First Conservatives | |
| No Apologies Right |
They at least sometimes feel unfairly judged because of how they express themselves
They follow the news all or most of the time
There is a great deal of difference in what the Democratic and Republican parties stand for
The government has a responsibility to provide an adequate standard of living
Same-sex marriage is bad for society
Violent crime is a very big problem in the country today
Note: For full question wordings and distributions, refer to the detailed tables. The April 2025 question about government responsibility had a sample size of 114 Tuned-Out Middle, for a margin of error plus or minus 10.4 percentage points at the 95% confidence interval.
Source: Surveys of U.S. adults conducted April 7-13, Aug. 18-24, Sept. 22-28 and Nov. 17-30, 2025, and April 20-26, 2026.
PEW RESEARCH CENTER
Tuned-Out Middle: Tuning out of politics and the news, but not on key issues
% who say …
| Typology group | They at least sometimes feel unfairly judged because of how they express themselves | They follow the news all or most of the time | There is a great deal of difference in what the Democratic and Republican parties stand for | The government has a responsibility to provide an adequate standard of living | Same-sex marriage is bad for society | Violent crime is a very big problem in the country today |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Leftward Progressives | 32% | 38% | 55% | 97% | <1% | 18% |
| Loyal Liberals | 20% | 64% | 71% | 86% | 1% | 19% |
| Left-Out Left | 39% | 20% | 45% | 88% | 8% | 43% |
| Order and Opportunity Left | 36% | 32% | 58% | 82% | 22% | 53% |
| Tuned-Out Middle | 54% | 19% | 35% | 74% | 47% | 51% |
| Pragmatic and Polite Right | 23% | 41% | 62% | 58% | 41% | 54% |
| Unconventional Right | 30% | 29% | 59% | 50% | 34% | 45% |
| Faith First Conservatives | 22% | 36% | 77% | 41% | 77% | 57% |
| No Apologies Right | 20% | 57% | 77% | 26% | 55% | 65% |
Note: For full question wordings and distributions, refer to the detailed tables. The April 2025 question about government responsibility had a sample size of 114 Tuned-Out Middle, for a margin of error plus or minus 10.4 percentage points at the 95% confidence interval.
Source: Surveys of U.S. adults conducted April 7-13, Aug. 18-24, Sept. 22-28 and Nov. 17-30, 2025, and April 20-26, 2026.
PEW RESEARCH CENTER
