US: Americans think the federal government is failing to make progress on key issues facing the country
Opinium’s nationally representative poll of American adults conducted in September 2022 revealed that Americans think the federal government is failing to make progress on key issues:
- Only a fifth (21%) feel the government is making progress on important issues
- Republicans and Democrats believe economy/inflation is most important issue facing the country
- Half (54%) of Republicans have an unfavorable view of the FBI, following Mar-a-Lago search
Majority of Americans feel the federal government is stagnating or regressing
A majority (62%) of Americans think the federal government is either stagnating (29%) or regressing (33%) on important issues facing the country. Only one fifth (21%) feel the federal government is making progress.
Looking across party lines, two in five (36%) Democrats think the government is making progress. However, this dropped to only 11% among Republicans, while half (52%) think it is actively regressing.
Inflation and the economy are biggest concerns for Americans
Both Republicans and Democrats believe the most important issue facing the country is inflation and the economy (62% and 41%, respectively). Republicans are more likely to consider immigration as a key issue than Democrats (38% vs. 6% respectively). Similarly, 36% of Republicans say the same about crime, compared to 22% of Democrats.
Meanwhile Democrats are more likely to consider women’s rights as a top issue (37% vs. 15% of Republicans), as well as climate change (27% vs. 13% of Republicans).
Republicans have an unfavorable view of the FBI following Mar-a-Lago search
Half (54%) of Republicans have an unfavorable view of the FBI, while slightly less than the two in five (38%) have a favorable one. Democrats view the FBI more positively with three in five (62%) having a favorable view. Around a quarter (23%) of Democrats have a negative one. Overall, half (46%) of Americans have a favorable view of the FBI, while one third (35%) have an unfavorable one.
Opinium conducted an online survey among 1,832 nationally representative US adults from September 6th to 12th, 2022. Results have been weighted to nationally representative criteria. The data tables for this study can be found here.