Election Returns Highlight Divided Nation
Election Returns Highlight Divided Nation
PRRI data has routinely shown how deeply divided Americans are on a series of partisan issues. That divide was on full display as election ballots were being counted across the U.S. “American voters on Tuesday delivered a split decision on two parties that could hardly have offered more starkly differing views of the future of the nation in an election that defied expert predictions and all but guaranteed at least two more years of divided government,” writes Reid Wilson in The Hill. Recent PRRI data shows that “two-thirds (66%) of Republicans, compared to one in four (26%) independents and one in ten (10%) Democrats, say the country is moving in the right direction.”
President Trump Draws Ire for False Victory Claim
President Donald Trump received criticism for a late-night tweet in which he alleged that ballots that were being counted were cast after polls had closed. The message was flagged by Twitter for being misleading. Later in the evening, Trump claimed victory in a brief speech. “To me, this is a very sad moment, and we will win this. And as far as I’m concerned, we already have,” Trump said at the White House. On Wednesday, neither candidate had enough electoral votes to be the projected winner of the 2020 presidential election. Recent PRRI data shows that more than two-thirds of Americans (68%) wish Trump’s speech and behavior were consistent with those of previous presidents, similar to 2018 (69%) and slightly lower than in 2019 (73%). The partisan divide is wide, but it is notable that close to half of Republicans (46%) wish Trump would act more like his predecessors.
Delaware Becomes First State to Elect Transgender State Senator
PRRI data shows that more than six in ten (62%) Americans say they have become more supportive toward transgender rights compared to their views five years ago. By contrast, about one-quarter (25%) say their views are more opposed compared to five years ago. On Tuesday, Delaware’s Sarah McBride made history by becoming the first transgender person to be elected to a state senate seat. McBride told The New York Times that she hoped her victory would send a “message to a young person struggling with where they fit and how they fit into this world: that our democracy is big enough for them too and their voices matter.”
SCOTUS Hears Adoption Case With Implications on Religious Liberty
On Wednesday, the U.S. Supreme Court is hearing arguments in Fulton v. City of Philadelphia in which the city of Philadelphia is attempting to cancel a contract with a Catholic foster care center that won’t pair children with same-sex couples. All eyes will be on newly appointed Associate Justice Amy Comey-Barrett. PRRI data shows that a broad majority of Americans (70%) oppose allowing religiously affiliated agencies that receive taxpayer funding to refuse to accept qualified gay and lesbian couples as foster parents, including 39% who strongly oppose it. About three in ten favor this policy (28%), with only 11% strongly favoring it.