Figure 3-1. Public opinion on key issues in American politics, by whether the respondent identifies as a Republican or Democrat.
| Issue | Republicans | Democrats | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|
| Abortion (% Pro-Choice) | 23 | 86 | 63 |
| Gun (% for Stricter Laws) | 26 | 88 | 62 |
| Election Integrity (% Confident) | 28 | 84 | 56 |
| Immigrants (% for Same Level) | 5 | 41 | 36 |
| Higher Education (% Confidence) | 20 | 56 | 36 |
| Free Speech (% Believe in Importance) | 91 | 88 | -3 |
Questions and Sources
Abortion: “With respect to the abortion issue, would you consider yourself to be pro-choice or pro-life?” The figure shows the percentage “pro-choice.” “Abortion Trends by Party Identification,” Gallup (May 2024).
Guns: “In general, do you feel that the laws covering the sale of firearms should be made more strict, less strict or kept as they are now?” The figure shows the percentage “more strict”. Jeffrey M. Jones, “Majority in U.S. Continues to Favor Stricter Gun Laws,” Gallup (Oct. 31, 2023).
Election Integrity: “How confident are you that, across the country, the votes for president will be accurately cast and counted in this year’s election—very confident, somewhat confident, not too confident or not at all confident?” The figure shows the percentage “very” or “somewhat” confident. Lydia Saad, “Partisan Split on Election Integrity Gets Even Wider,” Gallup (Sept. 25, 2024).
Immigrants: “Thinking now about immigrants—that is, people who come from other countries to live here in the United States, in your view, should immigration be kept at its present level, increased or decreased?” The figure shows the percentage “keep at present level”. Jeffrey M. Jones, “Sharply More Americans Want to Curb Immigration to U.S.,” Gallup (July 12, 2024).
Higher Education: “Please tell me how much confidence you, yourself, have in higher education—a great deal, quite a lot, some or very little?” The figure shows the percentage with “a great deal” or “quite a lot of confidence”. Jeffrey M. Jones, “U.S. Confidence in Higher Education Now Closely Divided,” Gallup (July 8, 2024).
Free Speech: “How important do you consider [free speech] to be in our democracy?” Extremely important, very important, moderately important, not important. The figure shows the “extremely” or “very important”. Knight Foundation-Ipsos, “Free Expression in America Post-2020” (Knight Foundation, 2022).