Democrats' Election Enthusiasm Spikes

Tuesday, September 10, 2024

The voice of the world in numbers

Sept. 10, 2024

Welcome to Front Page, where we break down Gallup's latest insights on our constantly evolving world. Here are the five insights you shouldn't miss this week:

1. Democrats' Election Enthusiasm Spikes

Line Chart: 78% of Democrats say they are more enthusiastic than usual about voting in August 2024.

The Data: Nearly eight in 10 Democrats (78%) say they are more enthusiastic than usual about voting — up from 55% in March.

National Views: Sixty-nine percent of U.S. adults report having more enthusiasm about voting this year, with the overall increase largely driven by Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents.

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2. Talking Politics at Work

Bar Chart: 45% of U.S. employees say they've had a discussion with a coworker about politics in the past month.

The Data: Under half of U.S. workers in February (45%) said they had discussed political issues with a coworker in the past month.

Dialogue or Division? Gallup finds that political discussions at work affect employees positively and negatively: 14% of workers said they felt included by having these discussions, while about the same percentage (12%) felt uncomfortable because of them.

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3. Americans' Views of K-12 Education Improve

Line Chart: 43% of Americans say they are satisfied with U.S. K-12 education in 2024.

The Data: Satisfaction with U.S. K-12 education has risen to 43%, a seven-percentage-point increase from the record low recorded in 2023.

Safety in Schools: A separate question finds that 44% of U.S. adults with a child in kindergarten through grade 12 say they fear for their oldest child's personal safety at school. This matches the recent high recorded in 2022, collected three months after the mass shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas.

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4. Gallup Podcast: Higher Education Trust Deficit

Line Chart: 36% of Americans say they have a great deal or quite a lot of confidence in higher education in 2024.

The Data: Americans' rising distrust in higher education has left them split roughly into thirds, with 36% having a great deal or quite a lot of confidence, 32% some confidence, and 32% little or no confidence.

The Podcast: The Gallup Podcast returns with an episode on Americans' confidence in higher education, what is behind their distrust and what is being done to restore it. Each episode this season covers one of Gallup's historical Confidence in Institutions trends.

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5. Americans' Fear of Terrorism in U.S. Highest Since 2016

Line Chart: 43% of Americans say they worry a great deal about the possibility of future terrorist attacks in the U.S.

The Data: Forty-three percent of Americans in March said they worry a great deal about the potential of future terrorist attacks in the U.S. This is up seven percentage points from last year to the highest point since 2016.

History: Although elevated, Americans' overall concern about the issue still doesn't match the higher levels of public concern measured in 2015 (51%), 2016 (48%) and the early 2000s (49%).

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