Partisanship & Issues

Overview Former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney has seen his favorability ratings improve and now enjoys a positive balance of opinion among the general public: 40% rate him favorably, 28% unfavorably. This marks a reversal of opinion from February 2008, during the latter stages of the GOP primary campaign, when just 30% viewed him favorably and […]

The shooting of a controversial abortion provider triggered far more attention in social media last week than in the mainstream press, with advocates on both sides of the polarizing issue weighing in on the implications. Meanwhile, the most viewed news video on YouTube put the spotlight on an unlikely overnight sensation.

The GOP has lost about a quarter of its base over the past five years.

The Republican Party has continued to lose adherents in 2009. In combined surveys since the start of the year, fewer than a quarter (23%) of Americans identify as Republicans. In total, the GOP has lost roughly a quarter of its base over the past five years. But these losses have not translated into substantial Democratic gains.

A majority of American adults went online in 2008 to keep informed about political developments and to get involved with the election.

Overview Shortly before President Obama took office in January, the public was uncharacteristically optimistic that Republicans and Democrats would work together more to solve problems in the year ahead. Less than three months later, those expectations have faded and most see a return to partisan politics in Washington. A majority (53%) currently says that Republicans […]

For all of his hopes about bipartisanship, Barack Obama has the most polarized early job approval ratings of any president in the past four decades.

A 28-point divide separates Democrats and Republicans on the question of losing ground with respect to the gap between rich and poor.

The current Democratic favorability advantage is the largest measured in nearly two decades. Even among white evangelical Protestants, loyal supporters of the Republican Party, opinions about the two parties are about even.

Voters expect that the level of public engagement they experienced with Barack Obama during the campaign, much of it occurring online, will continue into the early period of his new administration.