On the Money

Lee Drutman released a new report with the Voter Study Group on voters' economic and political beliefs.

In the Democracy Fund Voter Study Group’s 2019 VOTER Survey (Views of the Electorate Research Survey), conducted between November 17, 2018 and January 7, 2019, 6,779 Americans shared their views on wealth and poverty, as well as some commonly proposed policies to address economic inequality. The data shed new light on the relationship between the public’s narrative beliefs and their policy priorities, namely, how American voters explain why some people are rich and others are poor, what effects wealthy people have on society, and how views of wealthy and poor people relate to economic policy preferences.

Democratic voters were unified in their explanations about the economy and in support of progressive economic policies, while Republicans were much more divided internally. About one in five Republicans held economic views closer to the Democratic average than to their own.

Key Findings

• Americans hold varying beliefs about the causes of inequality and the role of wealthy people in society. These stories largely break down along partisan lines. Democrats generally emphasize an unfair economy and the negative effects of wealth. Republicans commonly attribute economic fortunes to hard work and talent, and see wealthy people in a more positive light.
• While Democratic voters are relatively unified in support of progressive economic policies and in their explanations of inequality, Republicans are more divided. Lower-income Republicans are substantially more economically progressive than higher-income Republicans. About one in five Republicans hold economic views more in line with the Democratic Party than their own party.
• Differences in how voters explain the reasons for wealth and poverty and the contributions of rich people correlate with their economic policy preferences.
• Economic policy preferences also correlate with voting behavior. Republicans with more economically progressive views are less likely to say they will vote for President Trump in 2020 than Republicans in the economic mainstream of their party. Independents with economically progressive views voted for congressional Democrats by 16 percentage points more in the 2018 midterm elections than they supported Hillary Clinton in the 2016 presidential election.