Poll shows Americans want congressional cooperation, but expect gridlock

Judy Woodruff:

We are just three weeks away from the start of a split Congress, with Republicans controlling the House of Representatives and Democrats controlling the Senate.

Lisa Desjardins take stock of what voters want to see from this new Congress and how they view the two parties.

Lisa Desjardins:

Judy, a divided electorate weighed in on the future of democracy, compromise among lawmakers, and more in our latest "PBS NewsHour," NPR and Marist poll.

Here with me to talk about all of the findings is Lee Miringoff. He's the director of the Marist College Institute for Public Opinion. And he runs this poll.

Lee, let's jump right into it.

Following the election, and ahead of the January 6 Select Committee's final report, we asked Americans what they think about any threat to democracy. And a large number, 83 percent, said, yes, they do believe there is a threat to democracy, a serious one right now.

We also ask them which political party they think poses a greater threat. And look at that, a statistical tie, with some 48 percent saying Republicans and 45 percent saying Democrats.

Lee, how unusual are those numbers? And what do they tell you?

Lee Miringoff, Director, Marist Institute for Public Opinion: Lisa, I think they reflect the times we live in.

And, actually, the 83 percent that see it as a serious strength, that's grown from 77 percent in a previous poll. So, we have a lot of people are very concerned.

What's interesting, and I think somewhat surprising in this, is the comparability of the two parties, the fact that both Democrats and Republicans are seem fairly equally as culpable in all this. And I think a lot of that has to do with the — if you're a Democrat, you think the Republicans have gotten too extreme. And if you're a Republican, you think the Democrats have gotten too extreme.

And you have your concerns about the democracy from both camps, and, obviously, the Democrat folks concerned about January 6 and what happened at the Capitol. And, on the Republican side, it's echoes of former President Trump's rigged elections and labels that people are putting on more progressive Democrats.

Lisa Desjardins:

It sounds like concern is rising, but so is sort of blame for the other guys.

We also asked what Americans think about lawmakers in general. We're just a few weeks ahead of the new Congress. And some 58 percent of those who responded said they have no confidence that the two parties can work together. And look at that number in green at the bottom. Just 9 percent saying they have a lot of confidence that the parties can work together.

But we also asked, should the parties be working together? And look at that; 74 percent of those we talked to said, yes, compromise is more important than standing on principle.

Lee, those are big numbers also.

Lee Miringoff:

Yes.

Lisa Desjardins:

What do they say to you about us? And those numbers have changed, have they not?

Lee Miringoff:

Yes, and it speaks to the frustration that people are feeling in the process, because they really would like things to get done.

They would like the system to run smoother, and the fact that 74 percent is the highest we have had in a decade in terms of people wanting bipartisan compromise. So people are frustrated. That's not news. But it sure shows in these numbers.

But, well, it's interesting. Talking about the last Congress, we saw that 24 percent think that they did more than previous Congress have accomplished. What I find interesting about that is, 24 percent isn't a huge number, but it's the highest since 1998. So, people have actually noticed that Congress is accomplishing things.

They would like more in the direction of working together. But they're totally not convinced that that's likely to occur. And who can blame them, given the day — back-and-forth every day that we're seeing in our politics coming out of the Capitol?

Lisa Desjardins:

And that brings us to who Americans want to lead them.

Let's look at President Biden's current approval numbers. We show at 43 percent approval, 48 percent disapproval in this poll. That's actually a slight improvement for him. We also, though, asked, who do people want as the 2024 presidential nominees? Thirty-five percent of Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents said President Biden; 45 percent for those leaning Republican said former President Trump.

What does that tell you about the mind-set? Neither one of these men has a majority of those who lean their way.

Lee Miringoff:

Yes, and these are the two front-runners right now. So you have two front-runners, neither of whom is commanding the strength within their — each of their parties.

And I think it speaks to this plurality both of them have. It raises the question of, where are we going to get the leadership? Going back to the Congress, people want things to move forward. Well, they want that to happen also at the national level. And, clearly, in these numbers, that may not be occurring.

I should mention also that, when you look at the numbers like that, what this speaks to is, where is everybody else going to go? Where are the Democrats going to go if President Biden doesn't run? Where are the Republicans going to go? And how many Republicans ultimately do get in if Donald Trump does continue his candidacy, which he indicates that he will?

A crowded field, he does better. Remember 2016. If it's just one or two people running against him for the Republican nomination, well, these numbers suggests that he would have a much tougher battle.

Lisa Desjardins:

Americans are clearly looking for leadership, but they may not have found the person or people that they believe can bring it to them yet.

Lee Miringoff, the director of the Marist College Institute for Public Opinion, thank you so much.

Lee Miringoff:

Yes, my pleasure.