Election News

There are notable differences between white and black Democrats in news consumption habits and assessments of recent political events and figures in the news.

59% of Americans are following news about the 2020 candidates closely, but far fewer are following it very closely at this stage of the race.

In total, 20% of all Democrats get political news only from outlets with left-leaning audiences, while 18% of all Republicans do so only from outlets with right-leaning audiences.

Nearly three out of four U.S. adults say that, in general, it’s important for journalists to function as watchdogs over elected officials.

Concern is highest among people who follow political news most closely, older adults and those who display more knowledge about politics in general.

Americans who closely follow political news are more likely to have confidence that the public will accept election results. And that's true across party boundaries.

There's broad concern among Democrats and Republicans about the influence that made-up news could have during the 2020 presidential election.

Democrats are more likely than Republicans to have stopped discussing political and election news with someone: 50% vs. 41%, respectively.

Both Democrats and Republicans express far more distrust than trust of social media sites as sources for political and election news.

Many Democrats and Republicans hold divergent views of President Donald Trump's withholding of military aid to Ukraine. But in today’s fragmented news media environment, party identification may not be the only fault line.