NewDEAL Poll Finds Voters Overwhelmingly Want Leaders to Work Together

WASHINGTON — Voters overwhelmingly want elected officials, regardless of party, to work together to solve the nation’s problems, according to a poll from the NewDEAL, a national network of pro-growth, progressive Democrats.

The survey, conducted last month by Mercury Analytics, found that 79% of respondents in the poll want to see their representatives work more collaboratively to solve problems and guide the ship of state.

Eighty-two percent said they also want their leaders to be “authentic” and 88% said they want lawmakers to “get stuff done.”

The respondents also made clear that while this is what they want, a significant majority don’t feel they are getting it.

Forty-two percent of those surveyed said they view the current state of American democracy as either poor or terrible, while only 24% rated it as excellent or good.

Looking ahead to the 2024 election, the poll finds that nationally more voters associate Democrats than Republicans with the concept of “freedom,” 35% to 32%. In the battleground state of Arizona, which was roiled in a controversy over the planned enforcement of a 19th century abortion law, 42% of voters associated freedom with Democrats, compared to 27% who favored Republicans in this regard.

A total of 63% said their vote in November will be influenced by how closely they associate a candidate’s political party with the concept of freedom, with the percentage climbing to 68% when the focus is on Arizona alone.

When it came to which party voters consider more extreme or radical, the result was something of a wash, with 35% saying Republicans are more radical and 35% saying Democrats had the edge when it came to extremism. 

Twenty-three percent said they felt both parties had hot-footed to the extreme.

Furthermore, when asked about reproductive rights before the recent Arizona Supreme Court ruling, 61% of Arizonans agreed that the government should protect reproductive rights, while just 18% disagreed.

“When Americans turn out to vote in November, they’ll be voting to protect the fundamental freedoms that make our country strong — the freedom for women to make decisions about their reproductive health, the freedom and opportunities that come with a strong economy and democracy, “ said Debbie Cox Bultan, CEO of NewDEAL, in a written statement.

“This poll affirms that Democrats should frame the choices up and down the ballot around Americans’ freedom while making sure they highlight the impact of the election on the specific issues that voters care about the most, including the economy and public safety, as well as reproductive freedom and the basic idea that every eligible voter should have their vote counted and respected,” she said.

The poll also found that nationally, a majority of voters believe that the MAGA movement is working to undermine, rather than protect, freedoms.

Fifty-three percent of all respondents (72% Republicans, 33% Democrats, 53% Independents) consider American democracy to be “somewhat weaker” or “much weaker” than it was immediately after the 2020 election. 

Republicans, Democrats, and Independents were all 7-8 points more likely to say it is weaker than 2020 compared to a year ago.

A plurality of all respondents strongly or somewhat strongly agree that in protecting people’s freedoms, the government should protect reproductive rights (70%), protect marriage equality (65%), improve public safety and reduce crime (88%), address climate change (68%), increase access to quality education (81%) and ensure access to free and fair elections (87%).

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