Report

While 64% of Republicans say GOP congressional leaders should “stand up” to Biden on matters important to their party’s voters, Democrats are more likely to say they would support efforts by leaders to find common ground.

Most U.S. adults say President Joe Biden (65%) and Republican leaders in Congress (61%) will be unsuccessful getting their agendas enacted in the next two years; only about a third say the president and GOP leaders will be successful. Republicans are less confident than Democrats in midterm vote counts – but more confident than they were after the 2020 election.

There has been a sharp decline in the share of Republican voters who are “very confident” that votes cast at polling places will be counted accurately.

The economy is clearly the top issue for voters; fully 79% say it will be very important to their voting decisions – the highest share among 18 issues included on the survey. The public continues to take a dim view of current economic conditions. Just 17% of U.S. adults say the economy is in excellent or good shape, little changed from the 13% who said this in July.

Americans see capitalism as giving people more opportunity and more freedom than socialism, while they see socialism as more likely to meet people’s basic needs, though these perceptions differ significantly by party. Many Democrats say socialism meets people’s basic needs; Republicans say it restricts individual freedoms.

Americans’ ratings of the Supreme Court are now as negative as – and more politically polarized than – at any point in more than three decades of polling. And nearly two-thirds of Democrats (64%) now say the Supreme Court has too much power, almost three times the share who said this in August 2020 (23%).

While the economy remains the dominant issue in this fall’s midterm elections, the issue of abortion has increased markedly in importance. More voters continue to view their midterm vote as an expression of opposition to Joe Biden than support for him. But across both parties, more voters now say Biden is not much of a factor in their vote.

Increasingly, Republicans and Democrats view not just the opposing party but also the people in that party in a negative light. Growing shares in each party now describe those in the other party as more closed-minded, dishonest, immoral and unintelligent than other Americans. Nearly half of younger adults say they "wish there were more parties to choose from."

Joe Biden’s political standing is at the lowest point of his presidency. Yet Biden is hardly the only focal point of the public’s political discontent: Americans express unfavorable views of both major parties and a range of leading Republican and Democratic political figures, including Biden’s predecessor, Donald Trump.

Republicans and Democrats differ sharply in views of the new gun law, its effectiveness and whether further gun legislation will be necessary. Roughly six-in-ten adults (63%) say they want to see Congress pass another round of legislation to address gun violence, compared with 35% who do not.

Opinion on the legality of abortion has changed little since before the court's decision, with 62% now saying abortion should be legal in all or most cases.

65% say most political candidates run for office “to serve their own personal interests.”

The share of adults saying the U.S. isn’t providing enough support to Ukraine has declined since March.

71% of Republican voters say their vote for Congress is “against Biden.”

About a third of adults (32%) say the U.S. is providing about the right amount of support for Ukraine, while a larger share (42%) says it should be providing more support; just 7% say it is giving Ukraine too much support.

Today, 54% of U.S. adults say they have a favorable opinion of the Supreme Court, while 44% have an unfavorable view. And 84% say justices should not bring their political views into decisions.

Americans’ views of the economy remain negative; most say prices have gotten worse while job availability has improved.

Pew Research Center’s political typology provides a roadmap to today’s fractured political landscape. It organizes the public into nine distinct groups, based on an analysis of their attitudes and values. Even in a polarized era, the 2021 survey reveals deep divisions in both partisan coalitions.

There is a wide partisan split on the fairness of the House committee’s probe.

Americans show more support than opposition for two infrastructure bills; majorities favor raising taxes on large businesses and high-income households.