• Polling

Threats to Social Security and Medicare Seen As Most Concerning Republican House Priority

Thursday, January 26, 2023 By Bryan Bennett
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Welcome to NAVIGATOR – a project designed to better understand the American public’s views on issues of the day and help advocates, elected officials, and other interested parties understand the language, imagery, and messaging needed to make and win key policy arguments.
Key takeaways
  • The most concerning potential House Republican actions are cuts to Social Security and Medicare, repealing the Inflation Reduction Act, and criminalizing doctors who perform abortions.
  • Medicare and Social Security are overwhelmingly popular, and Americans trust Biden and Democrats over Republicans on protecting both programs by double-digit margins.
  • On what would have been the 50th anniversary of Roe v. Wade, clear majorities of Americans identify as pro-choice, think abortion should be legal, and disapprove of the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe.

Just One in Four Say a Republican House Will Leave the Country Better Off; Disapprove of House GOP By 20 Points

Among independents, just 15% believe the country will be better off a year from now with Republicans in control of the House, and they disapprove of Republicans in Congress by 42 points (20% approve/62% disapprove).

Cuts to Medicare/Social Security, Repealing Inflation Reduction Act, and Criminalizing Abortion Dominate GOP House Concerns

Over half of all Americans say they are “very concerned” about potential cuts to Medicare and Social Security.

  • Nearly half of Republicans and more than three in five non-college whites are concerned about cuts to those programs; college educated whites are also concerned about repealing the Inflation Reduction Act and criminalizing doctors who perform abortions.

Majorities Say Congressional GOP Priorities Out of Line With Their Own; Investigating Biden Is Not a Priority for Americans

By a 40-point margin, independents say that Republicans’ priorities are not in line with their priorities.

  • Only 16% of Americans say that “investigating the Biden administration and Biden family” is one of their top two priorities, consistent with findings from early January

Americans Hold Overwhelmingly Favorable Attitudes Toward Social Security and Medicare

Majorities across party, race, and age hold favorable opinions of both Social Security and Medicare, but seniors express the most favorable views (+89 favorable on Social Security, +83 favorable on Medicare).

Biden and Democrats More Trusted on a Range of Issues Related to Social Security & Medicare, Health Care, and Retirement

Independents trust Biden and Democrats by double-digit margins on looking out for seniors (+23), protecting seniors’ retirement (+20), health care (+19), and protecting Social Security and Medicare (+10).

On What Would Have Been Roe’s 50th Anniversary, Majorities Continue to Be Pro-Choice and Say Abortion Should Be Legal

Large majorities of Democrats (net +65 pro-choice), independents (+37), and every racial and ethnic group describe themselves as pro-choice and say abortion should be legal.

Majorities Continue to Perceive Threats to Statewide and National Abortion Rights

There has been a 9-point net increase in perceptions of state-level risks to abortion rights since mid-November.

  • Americans living in the South (65%) and Midwest (60%) are most likely to say the right to an abortion in their state is at risk, and 68% of those in states with new restrictions following the overturning of Roe say the right to an abortion is at risk in their state.

Nearly Three in Five Continue to Disapprove of the Supreme Court’s Decision to Overturn Roe, Even More Oppose a Ban

Majorities of independents both disapprove of the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade (58%) and oppose a nationwide abortion ban (68%).

About The Study

Global Strategy Group conducted public opinion surveys among a sample of 1,000 registered voters from January 20-January 23, 2023. 100 additional interviews were conducted among Hispanic voters. 75 additional interviews were conducted among Asian American and Pacific Islander voters. 100 additional interviews were conducted among African American voters. 100 additional interviews were conducted among independent voters.

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About Navigator

In a world where the news cycle is the length of a tweet, our leaders often lack the real-time public-sentiment analysis to shape the best approaches to talking about the issues that matter the most. Navigator is designed to act as a consistent, flexible, responsive tool to inform policy debates by conducting research and reliable guidance to inform allies, elected leaders, and the press. Navigator is a project led by pollsters from Global Strategy Group and GBAO along with an advisory committee, including: Andrea Purse, progressive strategist; Arkadi Gerney, The Hub Project; Joel Payne, The Hub Project; Christina Reynolds, EMILY’s List; Delvone Michael, Working Families; Felicia Wong, Roosevelt Institute; Mike Podhorzer, AFL-CIO; Jesse Ferguson, progressive strategist; Navin Nayak, Center for American Progress Action Fund; Stephanie Valencia, EquisLabs; and Melanie Newman, Planned Parenthood Action Fund.

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