Democratic Party voters are split. Its most progressive wing, which is supportive of contentious policies on immigration, health care and other issues, is, in the context of the party’s electorate, disproportionately white. So is the party’s middle group of “somewhat liberal” voters. Its more moderate wing, which is pressing bread-and-butter […] Read more »
Mentions of Immigration as Top Problem Surpass Record High
After hitting a new high last month, mentions of immigration as the most important problem facing the U.S. increased further to 27% in July. … In the latest survey, 42% of Republicans, 20% of independents and 20% of Democrats mention immigration. CONT. Jeffrey M. Jones, Gallup Read more »
Health care: Democrats say focus should be on costs
Health care remains a dominant — perhaps the dominant — issue in the 2020 Democratic primaries. Nearly nine in 10 Democrats in the early states through Super Tuesday call it “very important,” outranking any other issue we asked about in the latest CBS News Battleground Tracker poll, and the split […] Read more »
It’s time for a cease-fire in the latest war of words
It’s been a rough week in Washington, and it’s only Wednesday. The president created a firestorm over the weekend, lobbing rhetorical bombs at “the squad,” the four House Democratic freshmen whose heated comments and extreme policy proposals have created one fire storm of controversy after another. Now, the president’s getting […] Read more »
It May Not Seem That Way, but Politicians Often Do What Voters Want
Do politicians care what voters want? New evidence may suggest they don’t — and many voters are skeptical, too. A 2018 survey by the Pew Research Center reports that less than half the country says elected officials care what ordinary people think. In reality, policy outcomes at the state, congressional […] Read more »
Who Leads? Who Follows? Measuring Issue Attention and Agenda Setting by Legislators and the Mass Public Using Social Media Data
Are legislators responsive to the priorities of the public? Research demonstrates a strong correspondence between the issues about which the public cares and the issues addressed by politicians, but conclusive evidence about who leads whom in setting the political agenda has yet to be uncovered. We answer this question with […] Read more »