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As we approach the height of the 2024 election season, issues on the ballot take a front seat in Americans’ headspace while the political landscape brims with anticipation and discourse. From the contentious debates over gun control to the intricacies of immigration policy and the workings of economic reform, voters are confronted with pivotal decisions that will shape the nation's trajectory for years to come. In our latest round of research-on-research, we asked respondents to see where their pen will lie, come election season and see where it compares.
Overall
There is opinion across the board when it comes to the primary concerns of voters this year, though the most significant being the economy with 72% of respondents identifying this as their top issue clearly highlighting it as the dominant concern heading into the voting season. Immigration was also a major area of apprehension, with nearly half of the voters, 49%, expressing concern and in following closely behind, Gun control.
Let’s break down this information a little further now.
Gender
The gender breakdown of voter concerns reveals trace differences between male and female respondents with the biggest difference reflected in the issues of immigration. Males are more concerned about immigration at 53%, compared to 46% of female, though still at only a 7% difference. While issues of gun control, the economy, and other issues, show female lead percentages but all with less than a 5% difference compared to males.
Political Affiliation
The political affiliation breakdown of issues of concern with voters presents a much starker contrast in priorities than gender with the most significant being the issue of Immigration. Immigration is a paramount issue for Republicans at 67%, significantly higher than Democrats at 39%, and Independents at 48%.
Conversely, gun control is predominantly a Democratic concern, with 62% prioritizing it, compared to only 28% of Republicans, and 36% of Independents. The economy remains a universal concern but is most critical for Republicans at 81%, where concern around this issue is 6 points higher than Independents and 13 points higher than Democrats.
Age
The breakdown of voter concerns by age reveals distinct priorities among different generations.
We found that immigration concerns escalate with age, shown with 42% of voters aged 18-24 concerned and increase 18 points, climbing to 60% among those aged 65 and above. This can indicate a growing apprehension about this issue among older voters. The priorities that seem more agreeable across the generations are the economy and gun control, both of which vary only slightly—around 7% on both issues.
Ethnicity
Looking at ballot issue priorities based on ethnicity brings to light the different priorities of each group, and where they align. The economy is the primary concern for all groups, with Asian or South Asian respondents showing the highest level of concern at 79%, followed by Hispanic/Latino at 76%, Caucasian at 73%, and lower among African American[BP1] . This highlights a strong emphasis on economic issues across diverse communities.
Gun control shows significant variation across ethnicities, being a priority for 53% of Asian or South Asian and 51% of African American respondents, indicating higher concerns about this issue compared to Caucasian (40%) and Hispanic/Latino (45%) populations. Immigration concerns are relatively high across most ethnic groups but are notably lower among African Americans, where it is between 11 and 16 points lower.
Income
As income increases, so does the concern for immigration, with only 41% of those earning under $20,000 concerned, compared to a significant 56% of those earning over $100,000.
The economy remains a universal concern but shows a notable increase as income rises, with 64% of the lowest earners concerned, climbing steeply to 76% among those making $40,000 and above. The trend of those making less than $20,000 having the lowest concern covers all the issues except ‘none of the above,’ where it holds a spot at 14%, 8% higher than other income brackets.
Panels:
The last set of data highlights the different panels and their varying concerns on major issues among groups. Panel D exhibits the highest concern for the economy at 81%, significantly above other panels, indicating a strong focus on this issue among its members. In contrast, Panel B shows the least concern for the economy at 64%, suggesting differing economic priorities or perceptions.
The same continues with the other provided issue options, showing how members opinions fluctuate between panels and the reality of selecting different panels can in turn lead to different results.
As you can see, opinion can vary significantly across demographics and by panel, impacting your data. That is why strategically blending samples is the best practice to ensure you are accounting for distributed demographic, as well as attitudinal and behavioral balance.
