Baxter Oliphant is a senior researcher at Pew Research Center, where he focuses on U.S. politics and policy research including partisan polarization, trust in government, gun policy and U.S. foreign policy. He received doctoral and master’s degrees in politics from Princeton University and holds a bachelor’s degree from Brigham Young University. His dissertation explored the impact of moral judgments on U.S. presidential elections. Before graduate school, he worked in political polling for campaigns and industry groups. Oliphant is a member of the American Association for Public Opinion Research and the American Political Science Association.
Growing shares of Americans view both gun violence and violent crime as very big national problems. 49% of U.S. adults say gun ownership increases safety by allowing law-abiding citizens to protect themselves; an identical share says it reduces safety by giving too many people access to firearms and increasing misuse.
Democrats hold the edge on many issues, but more Americans agree with Republicans on the economy, crime and immigration. Inflation remains the top concern for Republicans and Republican-leaning independents, with 77% saying it is a very big problem. For Democrats and Democratic leaners, gun violence is the top concern, with about 81% saying it is a very big problem.
Half of U.S. adults say they disapprove of selective colleges and universities taking prospective students’ racial and ethnic backgrounds into account when making admissions decisions. 33% approve of colleges considering race and ethnicity to increase diversity at the schools, while 16% are not sure.
In states where abortion is prohibited, the share of people who say access to abortion should be easier has increased since August 2019. A majority of residents in those states say it would be difficult to get an abortion in the area where they live today, up 21 points from four years ago.
Americans express highly negative views of President Joe Biden, congressional leadership in both parties and Congress more broadly. Views of the economy remain overwhelmingly negative, and there has been a sharp rise in the share who say the country cannot solve many of its important problems.
Americans now see reducing the budget deficit as a higher priority for the president and Congress to address than in recent years. But strengthening the economy continues to be the public’s top policy priority.
While 64% of Republicans say GOP congressional leaders should “stand up” to Biden on matters important to their party’s voters, Democrats are more likely to say they would support efforts by leaders to find common ground.
Most U.S. adults say President Joe Biden (65%) and Republican leaders in Congress (61%) will be unsuccessful getting their agendas enacted in the next two years; only about a third say the president and GOP leaders will be successful. Republicans are less confident than Democrats in midterm vote counts – but more confident than they were after the 2020 election.
There has been a sharp decline in the share of Republican voters who are “very confident” that votes cast at polling places will be counted accurately.
