Table 2. Beliefs concerning democracy in the US, by study group.
| Statement | Republicans | Non-Republicans | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MAGA Republicans* | Strong Republicans | Other Republicans | ||||||
| Unweighted n | Weighted % (95% CI) | Unweighted n | Weighted % (95% CI) | Unweighted n | Weighted % (95% CI) | Unweighted n | Weighted % (95% CI) | |
| Do you believe that things in this country today are… | ||||||||
| Generally headed in the wrong direction | 1110 | 98.7 (98.0, 99.4) | 608 | 95.6 (93.7, 97.4) | 1419 | 89.7 (88.0, 91.4) | 2874 | 74.4 (72.9, 76.0) |
| Generally headed in the right direction | 15 | 1.3 (0.6, 2.0) | 26 | 4.4 (2.6, 6.3) | 147 | 10.3 (8.6, 12.0) | 1011 | 25.6 (24.0, 27.1) |
| When thinking about democracy in the United States these days, do you believe… | ||||||||
| There is a serious threat to our democracy. | 1025 | 90.0 (87.9, 92.0) | 480 | 74.4 (70.6, 78.1) | 993 | 61.7 (59.0, 64.4) | 2859 | 70.1 (68.4, 71.8) |
| There may be a threat to our democracy, but it is not serious. | 77 | 8.1 (6.1, 10.0) | 118 | 19.3 (15.9, 22.7) | 451 | 30.2 (27.6, 32.7) | 812 | 23.2 (21.6, 24.8) |
| There is no threat to our democracy. | 23 | 2.0 (1.1, 2.8) | 40 | 6.3 (4.2, 8.4) | 121 | 8.1 (6.6, 9.7) | 224 | 6.7 (5.8, 7.7) |
| How important do you think it is for the United States to remain a democracy? | ||||||||
| Not important | 24 | 2.5 (1.4, 3.5) | 9 | 1.8 (0.5, 3.0) | 23 | 1.9 (1.0, 2.7) | 47 | 1.5 (1.0, 2.0) |
| Somewhat important | 44 | 4.4 (3.0, 5.8) | 23 | 4.8 (2.7, 6.9) | 85 | 6.7 (5.2, 8.3) | 190 | 6.6 (5.6, 7.6) |
| Very or extremely important | 1052 | 93.1 (91.4, 94.8) | 607 | 93.4 (91.0, 95.8) | 1459 | 91.4 (89.7, 93.1) | 3667 | 91.9 (90.8, 93.0) |
| Democracy is the best form of government. | ||||||||
| Do not agree | 94 | 9.2 (7.2, 11.2) | 23 | 4.5 (2.6, 6.5) | 74 | 5.6 (4.3, 7.0) | 120 | 3.9 (3.2, 4.7) |
| Somewhat agree | 170 | 16.1 (13.7, 18.5) | 90 | 16.3 (13.0, 19.6) | 301 | 21.2 (18.8, 23.5) | 829 | 25.1 (23.5, 26.7) |
| Strongly or very strongly agree | 856 | 74.7 (71.8, 77.6) | 524 | 79.1 (75.5, 82.8) | 1193 | 73.2 (70.7, 75.8) | 2948 | 71.0 (69.3, 72.7) |
| These days, American democracy only serves the interests of the wealthy and powerful. | ||||||||
| Do not agree | 378 | 31.5 (28.5, 34.4) | 343 | 50.8 (46.6, 55.0) | 588 | 33.3 (30.8, 35.8) | 934 | 21.2 (19.8, 22.6) |
| Somewhat agree | 293 | 27.0 (24.1, 29.9) | 184 | 30.6 (26.7, 34.6) | 553 | 36.9 (34.2, 39.6) | 1505 | 38.1 (36.4, 39.8) |
| Strongly or very strongly agree | 446 | 41.6 (38.3, 44.8) | 112 | 18.6 (15.2, 22.0) | 428 | 29.8 (27.2, 32.3) | 1469 | 40.7 (38.9, 42.5) |
| Having a strong leader for America is more important than having a democracy. | ||||||||
| Do not agree | 525 | 44.9 (41.7, 48.1) | 387 | 59.9 (55.7, 64.0) | 946 | 57.3 (54.5, 60.0) | 2667 | 64.5 (62.7, 66.2) |
| Somewhat agree | 253 | 24.1 (21.2, 27.0) | 145 | 22.3 (18.9, 25.8) | 382 | 25.8 (23.3, 28.2) | 693 | 20.3 (18.8, 21.8) |
| Strongly or very strongly agree | 337 | 31.0 (28.0, 34.1) | 107 | 17.8 (14.5, 21.2) | 241 | 17.0 (14.8, 19.2) | 538 | 15.2 (13.9, 16.6) |
| Armed citizens should patrol polling places at election time. | ||||||||
| Do not agree | 686 | 60.7 (57.5, 63.9) | 545 | 82.6 (79.1, 86.1) | 1384 | 86.9 (85.0, 88.9) | 3624 | 90.7 (89.6, 91.9) |
| Somewhat agree | 217 | 20.1 (17.5, 22.7) | 71 | 12.5 (9.4, 15.5) | 127 | 8.9 (7.3, 10.5) | 172 | 5.7 (4.7, 6.6) |
| Strongly or very strongly agree | 209 | 19.2 (16.6, 21.9) | 24 | 5.0 (2.8, 7.1) | 52 | 4.1 (2.9, 5.4) | 108 | 3.6 (2.9, 4.3) |
* Denotes self-identified Republicans who voted for Donald Trump in 2020 and agreed strongly or very strongly with the statement that “the 2020 election was stolen from Donald Trump, and Joe Biden is an illegitimate president.”