Our research below provides messaging guidance for progressives to win key policy debates.
More than one in ten Americans report already casting ballots in this year’s election while those who haven’t split between voting by mail or in-person on Election Day; the public’s top concerns about the election are Trump not accepting the results and trying to stop votes from being counted.
The public remains opposed to a potential rollback of the ACA and are overwhelmingly supportive of the $2.4 trillion coronavirus relief package.
Americans are worried the pandemic is surging: the share who say “the worst is yet to come” in the pandemic and who support “more aggressive social distancing” are climbing back to the levels seen in July amid surging cases.
The public believes it is likely the ACA will be struck down and Roe v. Wade overturned if Amy Coney Barrett is confirmed; Americans are bothered by Trump’s tax returns revealing he has paid no income tax 10 of the last 15 years.
Americans continue to believe the “worst is yet to come” with the coronavirus pandemic and expect we may not have presidential election results quickly.
Less than two in five Americans support the Senate considering Amy Coney Barrett’s nomination to the Supreme Court before the election, and express deep concern about the ACA and reproductive rights before the Court; a growing majority think it will take longer than the day after the election to know who won the presidency, and nine in ten Americans agree it is the most important election of their lifetimes.
Though the rate of new cases has plateaued in the United States, half still say the “worst is yet to come” in the pandemic as a growing share of the public expressing concern about Trump rushing the process of getting a vaccine developed.
While support for reopening K-12 schools has ticked up in recent weeks, two-thirds of the public continue to say they are more on the “cautious” side of the reopening debate; three out of four Americans support fully funding the USPS while the share who plan to vote by mail has declined in recent weeks.
As Trump’s job approval reverts to pre-convention levels, Americans see the Republican Party as focusing the most on jobs, the economy, and immigration while seeing the Democratic Party as focusing the most on the pandemic and race relations.
Nearly a quarter of Americans know someone personally who has died from coronavirus, while a vast majority supports keeping social distancing measures in place until a vaccine is developed and readily available.
Americans see Congressional Democrats’ policies as favoring the working and middle class and have concerns on Trump’s handling of the economic recovery from the pandemic; a plurality support banning TikTok in the United States, including parents and grandparents of users.
Majorities of Americans continue to say “the worst is yet to come” for the pandemic and that Trump should stay out the development of a coronavirus vaccine and leave the issue to experts.
A vast majority of Americans oppose delaying the election; many say Trump’s recent posts on social media are designed to sow division and chaos.
More Americans than ever rate the economy negatively and six in ten say it is still getting worse.
Trump’s pandemic approval continues to decline while, for the first time, half of Americans know someone who has been infected with coronavirus.