Pragmatic and Polite Right hold a mix of conservative, moderate and somewhat liberal issue positions: They skew more conservative on economics and the role of government, while tilting more liberal on issues related to race and in their orientation to the rest of the world.
They are also moderate in their style, prizing civility and cooperation. While they are more Republican than Democratic on balance, they are fairly mixed in their partisanship and vote choices.
Pragmatic and Polite Right are one of nine groups in Pew Research Center’s 2026 Political Typology. To learn more about the typology, start with the overview. To find which group is your best fit, take the quiz.
Pragmatic and Polite Right are economically conservative, but not absolutist: They are far more likely than groups to the left to say it’s important for the U.S. economic system to be based on capitalism and to view the economic system as at least somewhat fair. But they are more likely than groups to their right to see economic inequality as a problem in the country and to support raising corporate tax rates.
Pragmatic and Polite Right have moderate to liberal views when it comes to race and diversity. In contrast to groups to their right, clear majorities say the nation’s racial, ethnic and religious diversity strengthens American society, that the legacy of slavery continues to affect the condition of Black people in the country, and that Black, Hispanic and Asian Americans face at least some discrimination.
Pragmatic and Polite Right are:
- The oldest typology group – 68% are ages 50 and older, including 42% who are at least 65.
- Relatively religious – 41% attend religious services at least a few times a month, and 53% say religion is very important in their lives. Only Faith First Conservatives (72%) register higher on these measures.
- Advocates of civility and compromise in politics. They strongly dislike it when politicians they agree with humiliate their political opponents, and they are more likely than those in most other groups to want to see politicians seek bipartisan common ground.
- Fairly racially and ethnically diverse, particularly given their age profile: 65% are White, 13% are Hispanic, 9% are Black and 9% are Asian.
Political affiliation, voting and engagement
While a 56% majority of Pragmatic and Polite Right associate with the GOP, more than a third (37%) have ties to the Democratic Party.
| Strong Dem | Not strong Dem | Lean Dem | No Lean | Lean Rep | Not strong Rep | Strong Rep | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pragmatic and Polite Right | 9% | 8% | 20% | 6% | 21% | 16% | 19% |
Many in the group lean toward or are only weakly attached to one of the parties, and half are self-described moderates.
Although they are a Republican-oriented group, Pragmatic and Polite Right are more likely than the more right-leaning typology groups to express frustration and anger with the Republican Party, and they hold a more negative (54%) than positive view (45%) of the GOP overall. At the same time, 67% view the Democratic Party unfavorably.
Pragmatic and Polite are moderately politically engaged:
- 68% voted in the 2024 presidential election, a larger share than among the public overall.
- Most (74%) follow news about politics at least some of the time.
- And they are no more likely than the public overall to say control of Congress in the 2026 midterms really matters (57% vs. 60% for all adults).
Key attitudes and beliefs
Pragmatic and Polite Right hold a measured mix of positions in several domains.
| 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 |
Tax rates on large businesses and corporations should be raised
They favor suspending all asylum applications
They don’t like the way Donald Trump conducts himself
It is very important that the U.S. is respected by other countries
Gun violence is a very big problem in the country today
They are not comfortable with people displaying the Confederate flag
| Typology group | Tax rates on large businesses and corporations should be raised | They favor suspending all asylum applications | They don’t like the way Donald Trump conducts himself | It is very important that the U.S. is respected by other countries | Gun violence is a very big problem in the country today | They are not comfortable with people displaying the Confederate flag |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Leftward Progressives | 97% | 2% | 96% | 55% | 74% | 94% |
| Loyal Liberals | 92% | 4% | 95% | 79% | 74% | 90% |
| Left-Out Left | 82% | 15% | 84% | 50% | 55% | 69% |
| Order and Opportunity Left | 74% | 21% | 65% | 59% | 72% | 67% |
| Tuned-Out Middle | 54% | 38% | 44% | 37% | 41% | 41% |
| Pragmatic and Polite Right | 62% | 32% | 49% | 75% | 57% | 64% |
| Unconventional Right | 51% | 48% | 28% | 49% | 29% | 43% |
| Faith First Conservatives | 35% | 55% | 9% | 65% | 19% | 29% |
| No Apologies Right | 21% | 76% | 3% | 59% | 10% | 22% |
They want border security and are concerned about illegal immigration, but they do not support the administration’s widespread deportation efforts. Two-thirds say there should be a path to legal status for those living in the country illegally. And when it comes to the Trump administration’s stepped-up immigration enforcement actions and suspensions of asylum applications, this group clearly breaks from those to its right.
Though they backed Donald Trump over Kamala Harris in 2024 (by 54% to 40% among those who voted), just 36% approve of Trump’s job performance as of April. Majorities of Pragmatic and Polite Right say they do not have confidence in Trump on most key issues facing the country, and most have either mixed feelings about (39%) or don’t like (49%) the way he conducts himself as president.
Pragmatic and Polite Right differ from groups to their right on foreign policy. They are second only to Loyal Liberals in the importance they place on America being respected around the world (75% say this is very important). They also put more value than groups to their right on traditional U.S. alliances and multilateral institutions such as NATO. And when it comes to the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, 59% say the U.S. has a responsibility to help Ukraine defend itself (no more than a third of those in groups to their right say this).
While they are somewhat conservative on issues of sexuality and gender identity, they take positions closer to the middle – or left – on several other cultural issues. For instance, 57% say gun violence is a very big problem in the country (no more than three-in-ten of those in groups to the right say this). They are also more likely than other right-leaning typology groups to express discomfort with people displaying the Confederate flag (64% say they would not be comfortable with this, while just 13% say they would be).
Civility and consistency
Pragmatic and Polite Right tend to dislike heated, confrontational or overly aggressive politics to a greater degree than other groups. This especially separates them from groups to their right.
| Leftward Progressives | Loyal Liberals | Left-Out Left | Order & Opportunity Left | Tuned-Out Middle | Pragmatic & Polite Right | Unconventional Right | Faith First Conservatives | No Apologies Right | General public | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Elected officials should avoid heated or aggressive language | 84% | 85% | 76% | 83% | 64% | 86% | 71% | 80% | 74% | 78% |
| The best way to solve problems is using proven approaches that solve problems gradually | 67% | 75% | 74% | 76% | 61% | 78% | 69% | 61% | 44% | 68% |
They overwhelmingly (86%) say elected officials should avoid heated or aggressive language because it could encourage people to take violent action.
Nearly eight-in-ten (78%) prefer an incremental approach to solving the country’s problems rather than new approaches that may fix things quickly but risk making them worse.
The group’s preference for “polite” politics surfaces in several of their other views. For instance, 72% hold the view that people saying offensive things is a major problem in society today, and 70% say they dislike it a lot when politicians humiliate their political opponents.
Jump to the detailed tables to learn more about Pragmatic and Polite Right and the other typology groups.
