29% Think U.S. Heading in Right Direction

Twenty-nine percent (29%) of Likely U.S. Voters now think the country is heading in the right direction, according to a new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey for the week ending May 14. 

This finding is up one point from 28% the week before. In January and February, 30% or more of voters said the country was heading in the right direction after generally being in the mid- to high 20s since mid-June 2013.

Sixty-four percent (64%) now believe the nation is headed down the wrong track, also up one point from last week.

A year ago at this time, 29% felt the country was heading in the right direction, while 63% thought it was on the wrong track.

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The national telephone survey of 2,500 Likely Voters was conducted by Rasmussen Reports from May 10-14, 2015. The margin of sampling error for the survey is +/- 2 percentage points with a 95% level of confidence. Field work for all Rasmussen Reports surveys is conducted by Pulse Opinion Research, LLC. See methodology.

Voters 40 and over are more likely to think the country is heading in the wrong direction than younger voters are.

Eighty-six percent (86%) of Republicans and 70% of voters not affiliated with either major political party say the country is on the wrong track. Democrats disagree by a 53% to 38% margin.

Fifty-seven percent (57%) of blacks now think the country is heading in the right direction. Thirty-eight percent (38%) think it is on the wrong track, a view shared by 71% of whites and a plurality (47%) of other minority voters.

Congress is debating whether to encourage illegal immigrants to join the military as a path to citizenship, and most voters continue to think that's a good idea.

More voters than ever think the U.S. military is overstretched these days, but slightly more also think America has a responsibility to maintain order globally.

A lot of Americans think the government should pay for those who can’t afford to college, even though they're less convinced than they were several years ago that a college degree is worth what you pay for it.

Adults feel more strongly in the importance of a child growing up in a two-parent home.

Crosstabs and historical data are available to Platinum Members only.

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