The latest Georgetown Institute of Politics and Public Service Battleground Civility Poll highlights that an alarming number of Americans across party lines share a deepening fear that our very system of government is under threat, but for very different reasons.
The poll, conducted by Republican pollsters from Tarrance Group and Democrat pollsters from Lake Research Partners, placed an emphasis on voter attitudes toward threats to democracy in the latest poll. 81% of respondents stated that they believe democracy in America is currently being threatened, 72% agreeing with that statement strongly.
When asked specifically about people, organizations, or groups that present a threat to democracy, several figures stood as outliers with respondents saying they are an extremely or very serious threat to democracy. Those figures include Donald Trump (51%, 38% extremely serious), MAGA Republicans (49%, 34% extremely serious), major news organizations (47%, 24% extremely serious), and social media (43%, 23% extremely serious).
“The faith of voters in our democracy has been shaken but there are reasons for hope,” said Mo Elleithee, Executive Director of the Georgetown Institute of Politics and Public Service. “If leaders will work to find common ground and seek out the best solutions, the roots are there to rebuild that lost confidence.”
Signs of hope exist in this polling, with 88% of respondents (72% strongly) believe leaders of different parties finding compromises together can help lower political division.
The most recent Georgetown University Institute of Politics and Public Service Battleground Civility Poll was conducted among 800 registered, likely voters nationwide between March 9 – 14th, 2024 and has a margin of error of 3.5%. The poll was conducted by Republican pollster and former GU Politics Fellow Ed Goeas and Brian Nienaber of the Tarrance Group, and Democratic pollsters Celinda Lake, Daniel Gotoff, Sandra Markowitz, McCauley Pugh, Ronan Ferrentino, and Carolyn Ren of Lake Research Partners.
The poll is made possible by the generous support of American Policy Ventures, a 501(c)(3) organization dedicated to reducing polarization through more productive policy dialogue across party lines.
To learn more about the poll visit: https://politics.georgetown.edu/battleground-poll/
View the full press release with detailed results here, or click on the links below to view data and individual summaries from Lake Research Partners and The Tarrance Group:
