CNN/ORC poll: A nation divided, and is it ever
Story highlights
- 85% say that the nation is sharply split
- A slight majority want to end the Electoral College
(CNN)After
a bruising presidential election featuring the two least liked
major-party candidates in recent history, more than 8-in-10 Americans
say the country is more deeply divided on major issues this year than in
the past several years, according to a new CNN/ORC poll. And more than half say they are dissatisfied with the way democracy is working in the US.
The
poll's findings, released Sunday, also suggest a sizable minority
personally agree with both parties on at least some issues, and nearly
8-in-10 overall hope to see the GOP-controlled government incorporate
some Democratic policies into its agenda.
The
public is evenly split on whether single-party control of government --
with Republicans at the helm in both the White House and Congress -- is
good or bad for the country, with 49% on each side of that question.
Almost 8-in-10, however, say the Republicans should make an effort to
include Democratic policies in any legislation they pass rather than
sticking to a GOP-driven agenda.
And
most say they would like to see President-elect Donald Trump, who won
with an Electoral College majority despite trailing in the popular vote
nationwide, pursue policies that could draw in new supporters rather
than appeal solely to those who backed him during the campaign. Less
than half, 40%, say that Trump's win means he has a mandate to pursue
the agenda his supporters favor, while 53% say that since he didn't win
the popular vote, he should get behind an agenda that might attract new
supporters.
The
push for bipartisanship is less intense than the last time a single
party controlled both houses of Congress and the White House in 2008.
The
percentage in the CNN/ORC poll saying Republicans ought to incorporate
Democratic policies into their agenda is lower than the percentage who
thought the Democrats ought to do the same in 2008 when they took
control of the White House and both houses of Congress. That's largely
because Republicans now are less likely to think their party's leaders
ought to work with the Democrats than Democrats were in 2008 to say that
their leaders should bring in GOP policies (55% of Republicans say so
now vs. 74% of Democrats who said so in '08).
In
the wake of a surprising election night loss, Democrats express greater
dissatisfaction with the way democracy in the US is working than do
Republicans (63% of Democrats are dissatisfied vs. 47% of Republicans),
but some of the Republican Party's core supporters express deeper
dissatisfaction than the GOP as a whole.
Among
white evangelicals, 60% say they are dissatisfied, 62% of rural
Americans say the same, and whites without college degrees, a typically
GOP-leaning group which broke heavily for Trump in the recent election,
are broadly dissatisfied (61% vs. 52% among whites who hold college
degrees).
The sense that the
country is sharply riven is near universal, with 85% saying so overall,
including 86% of independents, 85% of Republicans and 84% of Democrats.
It's also sharply higher than it was in 2000 when the nation last
elected a president who did not win the popular vote (64% thought the
nation more sharply split then).
The
share who see deeper divides now tops 8-in-10 across gender, racial,
age and educational divides. The biggest difference on the question
comes across ideological lines, with 91% of liberals saying the country
is more divided on top issues compared with 80% of conservatives.
Still,
majorities of Americans say there are at least some issues where each
party, the President-elect and the current president share their views.
And there is some overlap in those groups across parties. About a third
of Americans (34%) say there are at least some issues where both parties
share their views, though only about a quarter say they personally
agree with both Trump and President Barack Obama on at least some
issues.
Shared views with both
parties are more common among independents (43% say they share at least
some views with both Democrats and Republicans, vs. 28% of Democrats and
26% of Republicans who say they agree with the opposite party on at
least some issues), among men (38% say so vs. 30% of women), and among
younger Americans (40% under age 45 say so, vs. 28% among older
Americans).
Photos: Donald Trump's rise
The
public also is divided on the two top Republican leaders in Congress,
with more holding favorable than unfavorable views of House Speaker Paul
Ryan (47% see him favorably, 35% unfavorably), but tilting the other
way on Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (39% see him unfavorably,
25% favorably). Both are viewed positively among Republicans, with Ryan
outpacing McConnell by 8 points (48% view Ryan favorably, 40%
McConnell).
Findings from the same
poll released last week found that the President-elect holds a 47%
favorability rating overall, with 50% viewing him unfavorably.
Looking
back on the election, about half (51%) say the US ought to amend the
Constitution so that presidents are elected via popular vote rather than
the Electoral College, but 44% would prefer to keep the current system.
Support for the status quo is higher than it was in 2000, when the
nation last elected a president who did not win the popular vote. At
that time, 37% said the Electoral College should stay and 59% favored
changing the rules.
And what of the
popular vote winner? Americans' views of Hillary Clinton haven't
softened post election. Overall, 40% say they have a favorable view of
Clinton, and 57% unfavorable. That is her lowest favorability rating
since immediately after the GOP convention, and represents the second
lowest since her husband was elected president in 1992. Among Democrats,
Clinton's favorability rating stands at 79%, down from 86% in late
October.
The CNN/ORC Poll was
conducted November 17-20 among a random national sample of 1,003 adults.
Results for the full sample have a margin of sampling error of plus or
minus 3 percentage points.
No comments:
Post a Comment