---
title: "Democrats Face Ideological Split Over Wal-Mart"
description: "Several leading Democrats have launched election-year attacks on Wal-Mart, criticizing the company for providing what they say are inadequate wages and employee health care benefits. Yet the party’s rank-and-file is deeply divided in opinions about Wal-Mart, with liberal Democrats taking a much more negative view of the company than do moderate and conservative Democrats. Most […]"
date: "2006-08-30"
authors:
  - name: "Pew Research Center"
url: "https://www.pewresearch.org/politics/2006/08/30/democrats-face-ideological-split-over-wal-mart/"
categories:
  - "Business & Workplace"
---

# Democrats Face Ideological Split Over Wal-Mart

Several leading Democrats have launched election-year attacks on Wal-Mart, criticizing the company for providing what they say are inadequate wages and employee health care benefits. Yet the party's rank-and-file is deeply divided in opinions about Wal-Mart, with liberal Democrats taking a much more negative view of the company than do moderate and conservative Democrats.

Most liberal Democrats (53%) have an unfavorable opinion of Wal-Mart, according to a national survey conducted by the Pew Research Center in December. By contrast, 70% of conservative and moderate Democrats - and solid majorities in other political categories - have positive impressions of the world's largest company.

The complaint that Wal-Mart does too little for its employees may resonate with liberal Democrats. A majority of liberals (53%) say that Wal-Mart is a bad place to work. But this opinion is not shared nearly as widely among conservative and moderate Democrats; only about a third (35%) say that Wal-Mart is a bad place to work, while 57% view it as a good place to work.

[Read the full analysis at pewresearch.org](https://www.pewresearch.org/2006/08/30/democrats-face-ideological-split-over-walmart/)