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Only “inflation or increasing costs” has surpassed crime or gun violence in our poll, undoubtedly because the country is dealing with the highest inflation since the early 1980s. But even before the mass shooting in Uvalde, Texas, that killed 19 children and two teachers at an elementary school, Americans ranked crime or gun violence as the third-most important issue facing the country.
That said, not everyone in our survey is prioritizing the issue in the same way. Democrats are more likely to cite it as a problem than either independents2 or Republicans. In the latest wave of our survey, 44 percent of Democrats named it as a top issue for the country, compared with 31 percent of independents and 26 percent of Republicans. Moreover, Democrats have ranked it either first or second in every wave of our poll, while independents have placed it consistently in their top three issues and Republicans in their top six.
Part of what we’re seeing here is that different people fixate on different aspects of crime or gun violence. “Looting, stealing, trying to hack computers, always looking to take from others,” said a 77-year old man from New York who identified as a Republican and homed in on acts of thievery. Meanwhile, a 37-year old woman from Minnesota who identified as a Democrat focused more on gun violence. “I’m much more afraid of the mass shooting epidemic in this country than of any random acts of crime,” she said.
R&I – FS
Just Think
Article URL : https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/how-democrats-and-republicans-think-differently-about-crime-and-gun-violence/