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Politics & Policy

Topic Spotlight

  • Trump’s Job Approval: 40% of Americans approve of how Trump is handling his job as president, according to a late September survey. Vice President Vance and congressional leaders in both parties are also viewed more negatively than positively. (Read the short read)
  • Immigration: 47% of Americans disapprove of the Trump administration’s overall approach to immigration, while 42% approve, according to a June survey. But evaluations are largely split along partisan lines. (Read the report)
  • Voters in 2024: Trump won the 2024 presidential election with a voter coalition that was more racially and ethnically diverse than in 2020 or 2016. (Read the report)
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  • report

    Cell-Only Voters Not Very Different

    Political pollsters continue to cast a wary eye on the growing number of Americans who use only a cell phone and have no landline. The Pew Research Center estimates that this group now constitutes one-in-ten adults. But three Pew surveys of cell-only Americans this year have found that their absence from landline surveys is not creating a measurable bias in the bottom-line findings.

  • report

    Democrats Hold Double-Digit Lead in Competitive Districts

    Summary of Findings With less than two weeks to go before the midterm elections, the Democrats not only continue to maintain a double-digit advantage nationally, but also lead by the same margin in the competitive districts that will determine which party controls the House of Representatives. Nationally, the Democrats hold a 49%-38% lead among registered […]

  • report

    Are National Polls Reliable Predictors of Midterm Elections?

    National elections are the high season for pollsters and with Election Day now less than two weeks away, new polls on the fight for Congress are being released nearly every day. Commonly, pollsters use something called the “generic ballot” to assess the state of the congressional race. Just how accurate is the “generic ballot” in predicting election results?

  • report

    The Vanishing Embedded Reporter in Iraq

    After the media complained about lack of access to previous conflicts, hundreds of embedded journalists lived, traveled and reported right alongside US troops at the outset of the Iraq war. Now, three years later, there are barely two dozen embeds left.

  • report

    Courting Religious Voters for the November Elections

    Experts Convened to Discuss Lessons Learned from 2004 As Democrats try to win back one or both houses of Congress this November, they are increasingly employing the language of faith and morality to frame the issues, hearkening back to the 2004 GOP campaign and its appeal to “values voters.” CONTACT Mary SchultzCommunications Manager202.419.4556mschultz@pewresearch.org/pewresearch-org/religion That election […]

  • presentation

    Internet addiction

    Is there such a thing as “internet addiction”? A new survey of internet users suggests that a portion of them experience behavioral problems connected to their internet use. Lee Rainie is among the panelists on the program who discuss the findings…

  • report

    In Pursuit of Values Voters: Religion’s Role in the 2006 Election

    In a Pew Forum roundtable conversation, Forum senior fellow John Green and two prominent journalists speculate that it will be difficult for the Republican Party to mobilize evangelicals to go to the polls in great numbers next month. They also discuss challenges faced by the Democratic Party in appealing to this segment of the electorate.

  • report

    All the President’s Pressers

    President Bush's second term has brought a big increase in the number of solo press conferences. Bush had only had 17 in his first term but looks like he's on the way to doubling that number in this four-year stint. The president still lags behind previous White House residents, but the change suggests a different approach to the press.

Signature Reports

report

Americans’ Dismal Views of the Nation’s Politics

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.

report

Beyond Red vs. Blue: The Political Typology

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.

Features