---
title: "Democrats’ View of Federal Government Turns Negative During Obama Administration"
description: "For the first time since Barack Obama became president, more Democrats (41%) have an unfavorable view of the federal government than a favorable view."
date: "2013-04-26"
authors:
  - name: "Bruce Drake"
    job_title: "Former Senior Editor"
    link: "https://www.pewresearch.org/staff/bruce-drake/"
url: "https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2013/04/26/democrats-view-of-federal-government-turns-negative-during-obama-administration-2/"
---

# Democrats’ View of Federal Government Turns Negative During Obama Administration

Public views of the federal government in Washington have fallen to another new low, according to a Pew Research Center survey conducted in March. While majorities of Americans see their state and local governments favorably, just 28% rate the federal government in Washington favorably. That is down five points from a year ago.

The percentage of Democrats expressing a favorable opinion of the federal government has declined 10 points in the past year, from 51% to 41%.

For the first time since Barack Obama became president, more Democrats say they have an unfavorable view of the federal government in Washington than a favorable view (51% unfavorable vs. 41% favorable). In July 2009, when Obama took office, 61% of Democrats expressed a favorable view of Washington. Favorable opinions of the federal government in the March survey among Republicans, already quite low in 2012 (20% favorable), have fallen even further, to 13% currently.

By contrast, nearly identical percentages of Democrats (56%), Republicans (57%) and independents (59%) have a favorable opinion of their state’s government. Similarly, local governments receive positive ratings from 67% of Democrats, 63% of Republicans and 60% of independents. [Read more](https://www.pewresearch.org/politics/2013/04/15/state-govermnents-viewed-favorably-as-federal-rating-hits-new-low/)

[![](https://assets.pewresearch.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2013/04/4-15-13-2.png)](https://www.pewresearch.org/politics/2013/04/15/state-govermnents-viewed-favorably-as-federal-rating-hits-new-low/)