… We’re all used to polls that ask voters which issue is most important to them. Gallup puts the question to Americans open-ended, meaning a respondent can say anything from the mundane (e.g. inflation) to the inane (e.g. clowns). Gallup, unlike other pollsters, has another twist on that question. They […] Read more »
GOP Leads On Image, Handling Terrorism, Nation’s Prosperity
Americans’ views of the two major U.S. political parties remain more negative than positive, but the Republican Party’s favorability is now slightly better than the Democratic Party’s. Both parties’ images have shifted slightly since last year, with the GOP’s favorable rating edging up four percentage points to 44% and the […] Read more »
Excess Death Rates for Republicans and Democrats During the COVID-19 Pandemic
Political affiliation has emerged as a potential risk factor for COVID-19, amid evidence that Republican-leaning counties have had higher COVID-19 death rates than Democrat-leaning counties and evidence of a link between political party affiliation and vaccination views. This study constructs an individual-level dataset with political affiliation and excess death rates […] Read more »
How to Run Surveys: A Guide to Creating Your Own Identifying Variation and Revealing the Invisible
… This paper offers guidance on the complete survey process, from the design of the questions and experiments to the recruitment of respondents and the collection of data to the analysis of survey responses. It covers issues related to the sampling process, selection and attrition, attention and carelessness, survey question […] Read more »
A Conversation With Lance Tarrance, GOP Polling Icon
Lance Tarrance is one of the founding fathers of modern political polling. In this conversation, he talks about what drew him into the world of GOP politics, an inflection point working at the US Census Bureau, going to work for Ronald Reagan’s pollster, then opening up his own firm, The […] Read more »
The disapproval derby: Biden Democrats vs. Supreme Court Republicans
What makes this midterm election different from every other? Most midterms are about the party in charge. But in this one, two parties count as incumbents: the Democrats who control the White House and Congress, and the Republicans who control the Supreme Court. GOP pollster Whit Ayres called my attention […] Read more »