More than the coronavirus, surging inflation, and crime, political division is the biggest issue facing the nation, yet most voters believe it is here to stay.
According to the just-issued Battleground Poll, division ranks a 73 out of 100 and 32% of voters rank political polarization as one of their top two issues. The second is government spending.
The Georgetown University Institute of Politics and Public Service sponsored survey also found that voters would like political leaders to join to agree on solutions but that they also believe that won’t happen.
“What they want are results,” said Mo Elleithee, the executive director of the institute.
“Every group of voters who don’t agree on a lot of things agree that division in the country is a major, major problem,” said Democratic pollster Celinda Lake, who conducts the regular poll with Republican Ed Goeas.
He said, “Voters are troubled by the division in the country and given a choice, prefer a solutions-oriented politician over an ideologically pure one.”
Lake added that when looking to the future, on the 0-100 scale of political division, the mean response was 69, up from 65 in January.
“The division is about as bad as I’ve seen it,” said Goeas.
The survey found President Joe Biden’s approval at a steady 53%. He has repeatedly promised political unity but is impatient and pushed through his biggest win, a COVID-19 relief package, with little GOP support.
Lake said the data in the 30th-anniversary survey is a warning to Washington.
She said, “Leaders in Washington would do well to heed this survey data, including perhaps one of the most striking findings from this poll: namely, that solid majorities of voters — across party lines — want politicians to work together to get things done, even if it that means sometimes compromising on core values. The corollary to this point is no less important: voters’ willingness to countenance compromise notwithstanding, they are unlikely to award points for style or political process that produces results insufficient to the scope of the challenges facing the country, or that fails to improve their lives in meaningful, material ways.”
