Political Ideals & Systems

Compared with many other countries in the world, Americans stand out for their patriotism. But surveys show that Americans disagree over what’s behind their country’s success.

There are fewer electorally competitive counties, and more counties in which Democrats or Republicans hold overwhelming vote advantages, than at any time in the past three decades or so.

The 700+ unpledged party leaders and elected officials are mostly white, mostly men and mostly Hillary Clinton supporters.

Two years ago, Pew Research Center found that Republicans and Democrats were more divided along ideological lines than at any point in the previous two decades. But growing ideological distance is not confined to partisanship. There are also growing ideological divisions along educational and generational lines.

In 11 of the 18 conventions since the Civil War that went more than one ballot, the first-ballot leader ended up losing the nomination to someone else.

Just 35% of voters say that the primaries have been a good way of determining the best- qualified nominees.

As Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders battle over who better represents progressive or liberal values, it’s clear that Democratic voters overall have become increasingly comfortable with the “liberal” label.

Survey Report Next week, Republican voters will begin the process of selecting their party’s 2016 presidential nominee. One of the major questions will be which GOP voters turn out, and which stay home. A person’s past voting history can be a powerful predictor of future turnout. A new analysis of the Republican electorate in 2012, […]

Americans pull no punches when assessing the strengths and weaknesses of their fellow citizens.

In principle, most people around the world support freedom of expression. But there is a fine line between general support for freedom of speech and support for specific forms of expression.