Divisive issues by political ideology U.S. 2023

Largest partisan gaps on political issues in the United States in 2023, by political ideology

Characteristic	Democrats/Left-leaning	Republicans/Right-leaning
Human activity is main cause of global warming	88%	37%
Worry great deal or fair amount about global warming	87%	35%
Same-sex marriage should be legally valid	85%	57%
Government should ensure that everyone has healthcare	85%	30%
Gun laws should be stricter	84%	31%
Marijuana should be legal	83%	55%
Immigration is good for country	83%	52%
Protecting environment has priority over energy development	81%	26%
Government should do more to solve naiton's problems	64%	23%
Abortion should be legal under any circumstance	59%	12%
Sympathize more with Israelis than Palestinians	39%	73%
Favor death penalty in cases of murder	37%	73%
Great deal or quite a lot of confidence in police	31%	60%
Federal government has too much power	31%	73%
Immigration should be decreased	18%	58%

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Release date

August 2023

More information

Region

United States

Survey time period

2022 to 2023

Age group

18 years and older

Special properties

U.S. residents

Method of interview

Telephone interview

Supplementary notes

The data reflects the share of respondents who either agreed or identified with the selected political statements.

The source does not indicate a survey count.

Citation formats

In a survey conducted between 2022 and 2023, stark divisions between Democrats and Republicans emerged on a number political issues. One of the most pronounced disparities was in regards to government responsibility for ensuring universal healthcare access, with less than one-third of Republicans in favor compared to 85 percent of Democrats. Furthermore, environmental protection emerged as another polarizing topic, with just 26 percent of Republicans prioritizing it over energy development, in contrast to the 81 percent of Democrats who regarded it as a top priority.