It’s not exactly news to say that depending on where you live in the United States, you might have a dramatically different take on how the country is faring versus someone in another state. And while the diversity of the country is part of what makes it so unique, it also raises an important question in the time of Donald Trump: Just who, if anyone, thinks things are moving in the right direction? Does anyone actually believe that Trump is making the country … better?
New polling data, courtesy of Civiqs, explores just that. The question is simple: “Do you think things in this country are headed in the right direction, or have they gotten off on the wrong track?” But the answers are complex, especially when broken down by demographics like age, geography, and gender.
First, let’s review the polling basics. 139,789 registered voters responded to this question between January 19, 2017 and June 30, 2019. Users can respond with either “right direction,” “wrong direction,” or “unsure.” So for each demographic, it’ll always add up to 100%. You can check out the methodology explanation in more detail here, FYI.
Heads up: There will be some graphics to help visualize this information at the bottom of the post, too.
Here are the demographics results were grouped into. We have every state (including D.C.), age groups between 18 and 65+, levels of education, race, gender, and party affiliation.
Something good: In most categories, most people do not think the country is headed in the right direction. That’s great news because, to put it simply, the country isn’t on the right path—or at least, no thanks to the current administration.
However, some demographics do have a majority of people who believe it is, indeed, headed the right way. Also, in no category is everyone in agreement that it isn’t. Even in states long-touted as reliably blue, like Massachusetts, while the majority (57%) believe it isn’t headed in the right direction, a jarring 37% believe that it is. That’s pretty close for comfort.
Let’s look at which groups mostly believe that things in the country are headed in the right direction. When we look at party affiliation, 76% of Republicans believe this to be true. This isn’t terribly surprising (in fact, it’s a relief the number isn’t higher) but is still concerning, for obvious reason.
When we look at race, 44% of white people think we’re moving in the right direction. This isn’t the majority, but it’s close enough to be a big reminder that white people have got to answer for a lot of things, including Trump.
Now let’s look at some geography. For this purpose, we’ll look at states where the majority of people responded that we’re on the right path. We have: Alabama (48%), Arkansas (45%), Idaho (52%), Kentucky (49%), North Dakota (57%), Oklahoma (49%), South Dakota (51%), Tennessee (47%), West Virginia (59%), and Wyoming (54%).
Want to see some trend lines? Here’s a handy visualization:
Hint: You can move the cursor around!
Also, the net right direction:
What part of the results is most surprising to you?