29 Percent of Americans Welcome Dividing U.S. into Politically Like-Minded Regions: Survey
A survey from a political science research project found that 29 percent of people welcome the idea of dividing the U.S. into regions.
The “Bright Line Watch” poll asked whether people supported possibly dividing the country into like-minded regions.
“Secession is a genuinely radical proposition,” researchers wrote.
“Until recently, we would have regarded it as too marginal to include in a survey,” the researchers said. “But state legislators in Mississippi and Texas and state GOP leaders in Texas and Wyoming have openly advocated secession in recent months.”
According to the survey, 35 percent of Republicans said they supported the possibility, while 21 percent of Democrats also agreed and finally, 37 percent of Independents also said they would support the change.
The support for a divide in the country seems to stem mostly from the 2020 presidential election and the impeachment of former President Donald Trump.
Of Republicans surveyed in the poll, 22 percent said they believed in the integrity of the 2020 election results.
“In a democracy people basically have to trust that the rules are fair and that if their party or their team loses, the stakes of that loss won’t be intolerable, that in the future they’ll be able to contest an election again, and that they’ll have a chance of winning. That keeps everyone committed to democracy and to playing by the rules,” said Bright Line Watch co-founder Gretchen Helmke, of the University of Rochester. “Once you break that faith—that elections actually determine who the winner is—people’s allegiance to democracy wanes.”
The poll also showed that both Republican and Democratic voters are in favor of a new COVID-19 relief bill.
Researchers asked how Americans view a hypothetical politician who supported $500 billion in relief as compared to a second hypothetical politician who was against the bill.
Republican voters supported the politician with the relief proposal by 11 points. That number was 12 points for Independents and 18 points for Democrats.
“We’ve seen Democrats and Republicans in Congress at times compete to provide more generous offers of aid and assistance. The public seems to largely agree that the government should provide more help given the economic circumstances Americans currently face,” says Bright Line Watch co-founder Brendan Nyhan of Dartmouth College in a university release.
Photo courtesy: ©Getty Images/natasaadzic
Amanda Casanova is a writer living in Dallas, Texas. She has covered news for ChristianHeadlines.com since 2014. She has also contributed to The Houston Chronicle, U.S. News and World Report and IBelieve.com. She blogs at The Migraine Runner.
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