29% Say U.S. Heading in Right Direction

Twenty-nine percent (29%) of Likely U.S. Voters think the country is heading in the right direction, according to a new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey for the week ending March 23.

This finding has held steady for three weeks now but is down from a recent high of 32% a month ago. 

Early last October during the federal government shutdown, confidence in the country’s course fell to 13%, the lowest finding in five years.

Sixty-three percent (63%) of voters now think the country is headed down the wrong track. That’s up one point from the previous week. Eighty percent (80%) felt the country was on the wrong track in early October.

A year ago, 33% said the country is heading the right direction, 59% disagreed.

(Want a free daily e-mail update? If it's in the news, it's in our polls). Rasmussen Reports updates are also available on Twitter or Facebook.

The national telephone survey of 3,500 Likely Voters was conducted by Rasmussen Reports on March 17-23, 2014. The margin of sampling error for the survey is +/- 2 percentage points with a 95% level of confidence. Fieldwork for all Rasmussen Reports surveys is conducted by Pulse Opinion Research, LLC. See methodology.

Eighty-eight percent (88%) of Republicans and 68% of voters not affiliated with either major political party think the country is on the wrong track. Among Democrats, 51% believe the country is heading in the right direction, while 37% think it is on the wrong track.

Fifty-nine percent (59%) of black voters think the country is headed in the right direction. Just 24% of whites and 34% of other minority voters agree.

Eighty-six percent (86%) of conservative voters and 56% of moderates believe the country is heading down the wrong track. Half of liberals (51%) believe it is headed in the right direction.

Fifty-six percent (56%) of voters who choose the Democrat on the latest Generic Congressional Ballot think the country is headed in the right direction. Among those who opt for the Republican instead, 93% say the country is on the wrong track.

Democrats have taken a four-point lead on the latest Generic Congressional Ballot.

Americans are now evenly divided when asked if the U.S. justice system is fair.

Sixty-nine percent (69%) believe middle-class Americans currently pay a larger share of their income in taxes than wealthy people do.

Fifty-seven percent (57%) of homeowners say their home is worth more today than when they first bought it.

Voters still don’t like the new national health care law but are more supportive of government-mandated health insurance standards as long as consumers still can choose the kind of plan they want based on costs and coverage. 

Crosstabs and historical data are available to Platinum Members only.

Please sign up for the Rasmussen Reports daily e-mail update (it's free) or follow us on Twitter or Facebook. Let us keep you up to date with the latest public opinion news.