With just days left until the high-stakes US presidential elections, a new poll reveals that nearly half of American voters believe that those in the opposing political party are “downright evil”.
A survey conducted by the SNF Agora Institute at Johns Hopkins University found that while 75% of Republicans who believe that Donald Trump, the Republican presidential candidate, won the 2020 election view Democrats as “downright evil”, fewer than half of Democrats share this view of Republicans.
“Vilifying our political opponents is a signal that we consider them to be enemies instead of opponents. This kind of work requires governance of a democracy to do compromise and mutual respect,” said Lilliana Mason, a political scientist at Johns Hopkins. These sentiments make that nearly impossible, which threatens democracy’s health.
The poll, conducted by YouGov, surveyed 2,000 eligible voters — divided into five categories: Republicans who believe Donald Trump won the 2020 election, Republicans who believe that Joe Biden won the 2020 election, Democrats, Independents, and then everyone altogether — to understand political attitudes leading up to the 2024 election, which is set on November 5.
The first poll went from July 26 to July 30 — just mere weeks after the first assassination attempt on Donald in Butler, Pennsylvania, while the second ran from September 6 to September 18.
The Vice President and Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris, 60, was said to have gained three points in the poll; her approval rose from 43% to 46%, while Trump remained at 42%.
These results may differ from national polls since they were not adjusted for likely voters, according to the researchers.
The survey also examined voter attitudes toward women and minorities, relevant for this election, as the nation could elect its first female and biracial vice president.
The polls show that this gap is growing, and the widest disparities seem to be on questions of gender and race.
“2020 election denialism has become an identity issue as much as a substantive policy measure,” said Scott Warren, an SNF Agora fellow.
He also said that those Republicans who accept the results hold “strikingly pro-democracy viewpoints” and perhaps feel politically marginalised.
Republican election deniers were also misogynistic, with 28% believing that women belong in the home rather than in the workplace. That is compared to 21% of independents, 20% of Republicans who accept Biden’s victory, and only 17% of Democrats. In addition, more than 80% of those denying the election fact think Black Americans ought to make it in life on their own merit, much like earlier waves of immigration, such as the Irish and the Italian.
But again in very similar ways, on key voting issues, election deniers and those Republicans who say he was legally elected rank the economy, immigration, and crime first. Compared with Democrats, who emphasise abortion, the economy, and democracy, those independents list the economy, immigration, and abortion.