By And
There is no denying that the United States has become more politically polarized than it was a decade ago – and a decade before that.
Historical data from the NBC News poll, dating back to 1989, helps explain how and why the political divide in the United States has widened.
(Special thanks to the team of pollsters who conducted the NBC News poll and the previous NBC/Wall Street Journal poll. survey to compile this data.)
1. The views of American presidents are increasingly polarized by party identification.
In the spring, before Harry Truman sought a full term in 1948, two-thirds of Democrats (68%) and even half of Republicans (50%) approved of his job performance.
When Richard Nixon was in the White House, the gap between his party’s approval of him and that of the opposition party was 47 points.
By Barack By the Obama era, that figure had risen to 72 points.
And for Donald Trump, it was 79 points, down only by a tiny margin to 77 points for Joe Biden.
2. The Republican Party has transformed over the past 10 years.
In 2012, the poll found that 48% of self-described Republicans were whites without a college degree, and 40% were whites with a college degree.
Ten years later, however, non-college whites made up 62 percent of all Republicans, while the share of whites with college degrees fell to 25 percent.
3. This transformation has led to changes in values and political preferences.
Consider the question of free trade. In 2015 – before Trump became president – an almost equal share of Democrats (56%) and Republicans (48%) said free trade with foreign countries was good for America. However, by 2019, the gap between Democrats (73%) and Republicans (52%) had increased to 21 points.
There is also gun control. In 1995, 48% of Republicans agreed with a statement expressing frustration that the government will not do enough to regulate access to firearms.
NOW? The share of Republicans who agree with this statement is 22%.
4. The Democratic Party has also transformed over the past decade.
In the 2012 NBC News merged poll, 43 percent of Democrats described themselves as liberal, and 19 percent described themselves as “very liberal.”
According to the merged 2022 polls, 55% of Democrats said they were liberal, and 29% said they were “very liberal.”
5. It also led to changes in political values and preferences.
In a 2013 poll, only 10 percent of Democrats said they follow no religion.
Ten years later, this share increased to 38%.
When it comes to policy, 45 percent of Democrats say the government should do more to solve problems, according to the December 1995 NBC/WSJ poll, compared with 17 percent of Republicans who agreed.
However, as of April 2021, Republicans remained almost the same on this issue (23% wanting the government to do more), while the percentage of Democrats had increased to 82%.
And on the issue of race, 40% of Democrats and 55% of Republicans agreed with the statement that America is a nation where people are judged not by the color of their skin but by the content of their character, according to the January report. NBC/WSJ poll from 2008 (when Barack Obama first ran for president).
However, in April 2013, only 28% of Democrats agreed with this statement, compared to 70% of Republicans.
6. Democrats have become more pro-abortion.
Additionally, the poll shows that the share of Democrats who believe abortion should be legal always or most of the time increased from 68% in 2008 to 89% today.
By comparison, Republicans and independents have barely moved.
7. But support for same-sex marriage has increased across the board
In 2003, only 22% of Republicans and 40% of Democrats said they approved of same-sex marriage.
NOW? It’s 82% for Democrats (+42 points) and 47% for Republicans (+25).
Still, it’s worth noting that four in five Democrats approve of same-sex marriage, compared to less than half of Republicans.
