Seventy-six percent (76%) of voters nationwide believe that American politics is more polarized than American society. A Scott Rasmussen national survey found that 12% disagree and 12% are not sure.
The totals include 43% who Strongly Agree and only 2% who Strongly Disagree with that perception.
Belief that politics is more polarized than society is found in all segments of society. It is a view shared by 81% of men and 72% of women; 90% of Senior Citizens and 67% of voters under 35; 79% of White voters, 78% of Hispanic voters, and 60% of Black voters. In fact, a strong majority of every measured demographic group believes American politics is more polarized that American society.
On a partisan basis, 84% of Republicans see this gap along with 72% of Democrats and 72% of Independents.
Those who do not see a gap between American society and politics are more pessimistic about the nation itself. By a 56% to 29% margin, they say that the U.S. is not a good role model for the world to follow. The numbers are reversed among those who see a gap between politics and society.
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Methodology
The survey of 1,200 Registered Voters was conducted by Scott Rasmussen using a mixed mode approach from July 9-11, 2020. Field work for the survey was conducted by RMG Research, Inc. Most respondents were contacted online or via text while 117 were contacted using automated phone polling techniques. Certain quotas were applied, and the final sample was lightly weighted by geography, gender, age, race, education, and political party to reasonably reflect the nation’s population of Registered Voters. Other variables were reviewed to ensure that the final sample is representative of that population.
