Numbers, Facts and Trends Shaping Your World
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Economic issues continue to dominate Americans’ ranking of the country’s top problems. Meanwhile, the share who say illegal immigration is a very big problem has dropped since the start of Trump’s second term.
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Overview As the Pentagon prepares to release its highly anticipated survey of military personnel about the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy, most Americans (58%) say they favor allowing homosexuals to serve openly in the armed forces. Fewer than half that number (27%) oppose allowing gays and lesbians to serve openly. These opinions have changed little […]
As the Pentagon prepares to release its highly anticipated survey of military personnel about the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy, a Pew Research Center survey finds that most Americans (58%) say they favor allowing homosexuals to serve openly in the armed forces.
The 2010 midterm elections renewed discussions about civil unions and same-sex marriage laws in several states, including Hawaii, Minnesota, Illinois and Iowa. Hawaii The election of Democrat Neil Abercrombie as governor of Hawaii may make it more likely that a bill legalizing civil unions for same-sex couples could become law in the state, according to […]
The media’s post-election analysis of Republican Rand Paul’s victory in the race for Kentucky’s open U.S. Senate seat has focused heavily on the role of negative advertising, with several news accounts crediting Paul’s election at least in part to a TV ad by his Democratic opponent, Jack Conway, which called Paul’s religious beliefs and policy […]
Public Less Happy Than After 2006 and 1994 Elections
A new survey by the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press finds that compared with 2006, fewer voters encountered information on parties or candidates in their house of worship, and only 6% say they were contacted by religious groups about the election campaign.
Amid shifts in demographics and partisan allegiances, registered voters are now evenly split between the Democratic Party and the GOP.
Americans’ views of politics and elected officials are unrelentingly negative, with little hope of improvement on the horizon. 65% of Americans say they always or often feel exhausted when thinking about politics. By contrast, just 10% say they always or often feel hopeful about politics.
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.
Partisanship remains the strongest factor dividing the American public. Yet there are substantial divisions within both parties on fundamental political values, views of current issues and the severity of the problems facing the nation.
