NBC News poll: Parties split over defining threats to democracy

One in five registered voters in a new national NBC News poll said the most important issue facing the country is threats to democracy, but the exact nature of those threats varies widely by political party. 

The issue once again topped the list of the most important issues facing the nation (with 20% naming it as their top issue), surpassing cost of living (18%), jobs and the economy (16%) and immigration (12%) after topping the list in the NBC News August poll. Democrats were more likely to list threats to democracy as a top issue, with 29% listing it as the most important compared to 12% of Republicans and 18% of independents. 

Those voters who selected threats to democracy as a top issue were asked an open-ended question about what that means. There were a wide variety of responses, with Democrats and Republicans naming a slew of different issues. 

One of the most common Democratic responses included the phrase “voter suppression,” as well as terms such as Republicans, election fraud, Trumpism, gerrymandering, government control and extremists.

One Democratic-leaning male voter said members of the “right wing” have “demonstrated a willingness to attempt to influence the outcome of elections by limiting the ability of people to vote, and by attempting to deny people the right to vote because they don’t believe people will support them.”

Republicans, on the other hand, defined threats to democracy largely as “government control.” Other common terms in GOP responses included censorship, Democrats, President Joe Biden, political corruption, overlooking the Constitution, and unsecured border. 

One female Republican voter said threats to democracy meant “that our government would control everything. People wouldn’t have a voice, control, a say in anything. And that it would be a series of laws and laws that just control us as though we’re puppets.” 

“Democracy is much more of an issue for Democrats than for independents and Republicans with real concerns about voter suppression,” said Jeff Horwitt of the Democratic firm Hart Research Associates, which conducted the poll with Bill McInturff of the GOP firm Public Opinion Strategies. 

Republicans, Horwitt later added, are “really concerned about losing our constitutional rights, government overreach. Government control is really front and center here.”

The voters surveyed did give Democrats an advantage when it comes to addressing the issue, with 40% saying Democrats would do a better job protecting democracy, while 33% said the same of Republicans.

For Subscribers

FOR SUBSCRIBERSIt’s rarely been harder for people to find new jobs

FOR SUBSCRIBERSCBP leaders cut out of Trump ad buy decision

FOR SUBSCRIBERSAmerican passenger drafted goodbye texts to her family as Flydubai plane plummeted

FOR SUBSCRIBERSCornell rape allegation pushes embattled New York prosecutor into national spotlight

FOR SUBSCRIBERSAbdul El-Sayed tries to woo MAHA voters as Democrats seek inroads with RFK’s supporters

FOR SUBSCRIBERSKratom-like substances are popping up in a typically benign supplement

FOR SUBSCRIBERSGOP super PAC increases its spending for Sen. Jon Husted in tough Ohio race

FOR SUBSCRIBERSRecords reveal tumultuous marriage between slain New York Times executive and wife

FOR SUBSCRIBERSFrom clean energy warrior to ‘wall of shame,’ James Talarico reverses on a fossil fuel money pledge

FOR SUBSCRIBERSCongressional staff planned official trip with luxury stops in Italy and France weeks before election

FOR SUBSCRIBERSA harrowing ordeal aboard an Israel-bound plane

FOR SUBSCRIBERSOpenAI CEO Sam Altman to skip congressional hearing on rogue AI agents

FOR SUBSCRIBERSKey DOJ lawyers departed Trump ‘grand conspiracy’ probe amid pressure to produce, source says

FOR SUBSCRIBERSTrump’s new AI chatbot often links to a site launched under Clinton 26 years ago

FOR SUBSCRIBERSAt MAHA summit, industry CEOs the movement once vilified take the stage

For Subscribers

FOR SUBSCRIBERSIt’s rarely been harder for people to find new jobs

FOR SUBSCRIBERSCBP leaders cut out of Trump ad buy decision

FOR SUBSCRIBERSAmerican passenger drafted goodbye texts to her family as Flydubai plane plummeted

FOR SUBSCRIBERSCornell rape allegation pushes embattled New York prosecutor into national spotlight

FOR SUBSCRIBERSAbdul El-Sayed tries to woo MAHA voters as Democrats seek inroads with RFK’s supporters

FOR SUBSCRIBERSKratom-like substances are popping up in a typically benign supplement

FOR SUBSCRIBERSGOP super PAC increases its spending for Sen. Jon Husted in tough Ohio race

FOR SUBSCRIBERSRecords reveal tumultuous marriage between slain New York Times executive and wife

FOR SUBSCRIBERSFrom clean energy warrior to ‘wall of shame,’ James Talarico reverses on a fossil fuel money pledge

FOR SUBSCRIBERSCongressional staff planned official trip with luxury stops in Italy and France weeks before election

FOR SUBSCRIBERSA harrowing ordeal aboard an Israel-bound plane

FOR SUBSCRIBERSOpenAI CEO Sam Altman to skip congressional hearing on rogue AI agents

FOR SUBSCRIBERSKey DOJ lawyers departed Trump ‘grand conspiracy’ probe amid pressure to produce, source says

FOR SUBSCRIBERSTrump’s new AI chatbot often links to a site launched under Clinton 26 years ago

FOR SUBSCRIBERSAt MAHA summit, industry CEOs the movement once vilified take the stage

The NBC News poll was conducted Sept. 9-13 of 1,000 registered voters — including 750 respondents reached by cell phone — and it has an overall margin of error of plus-minus 3.1 percentage points.