U.S. Constitution ‘Racist’ and ‘Sexist,’ Most Democrats Believe

The U.S. Constitution is overwhelmingly admired by American voters, but most Democrats believe our national charter is tainted by racism and sexism.

A new national telephone and online survey by Rasmussen Reports and the Heartland Institute finds that 82% of Likely U.S. voters have a favorable opinion of the Constitution, including 58% who have a Very Favorable view of the document, which was ratified in 1789. Just 14% view the Constitution unfavorably. (To see survey question wording, click here.)

Majorities of every political category – 89% of Republicans, 74% of Democrats and 80% of independents – have at least a somewhat favorable opinion of the Constitution, although more Republicans (76%) than Democrats (42%) or independents (56%) have a Very Favorable view of the Constitution.

Despite their generally favorable opinion of the Constitution, however, 57% of Democratic voters agree it “is a document rooted in racism,” and 64% think the Constitution ”is a sexist document that gives men advantages over women.” Nearly half (49%) of Democrats believe the Constitution “should be mostly or completely rewritten.” The rest of the electorate overwhelmingly rejects all these statements.

“As Americans, we are fortunate to live in a land where the Constitution ensures the government cannot infringe upon our basic liberties,” said Heartland Institute senior editor Chris Talgo, remarking on the “cognitive dissonance” among some voter groups who “overwhelmingly have favorable opinions in general about the Constitution” while simultaneously believing it is rooted in racism and sexism. 

(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 survey of 1,025 U.S. Likely Voters was conducted on July 6-7, 2022 by Rasmussen Reports. The margin of sampling error is +/- 3 percentage points with a 95% level of confidence. Field work for all Rasmussen Reports surveys is conducted by Pulse Opinion Research, LLC. See methodology.

Among the findings of the new Heartland/Rasmussen survey:

– Sixty percent (60%) of Likely Voters disagree with the statement that the Constitution “is a document rooted in racism,” including 44% who Strongly Disagree. Thirty-five percent (35%) agree that the Constitution is “rooted in racism,” including 15% who Strongly Agree. Eighty-four percent (84%) of Republicans, 38% of Democrats and 60% of independent voters disagree with calling the Constitution a racist document.

– Fifty-six percent (56%) of voters disagree with the statement that the Constitution “is a sexist document that gives men advantages over women,” including 42% who Strongly Disagree. Forty-one percent (41%) agree the Constitution is sexist, including 17% who Strongly Agree. Seventy-seven percent (77%) of Republicans, 33% of Democrats and 59% of independent voters disagree with calling the Constitution a sexy document.

– Sixty-three percent (63%) of voters disagree with the statement that the Constitution “should be mostly or completely rewritten,” including 49% who Strongly Disagree. Just 31% agree the Constitution should be rewritten, including 12% who Strongly Agree. Seventy-seven percent (80%) of Republicans, 47% of Democrats and 63% of independent voters disagree with rewriting the Constitution.

– Voters under 40 are far more critical of the Constitution than older voters. For example, while only 21% of voters 65 and older agree that the Constitution “is a document rooted in racism,” 49% of voters under 40 agree that the Constitution is racist. A majority (51%) of voters under 40 agree that the Constitution “should be mostly or completely rewritten,” a statement with which 57% of voters 40-64 and 68% of those 65 and older Strongly Disagree.

– Women voters are more critical of the Constitution than men, especially on the question of whether the document is sexist, where 49% of women voters but just 31% of men agree.

– Sixty-three percent (63%) of black voters at least somewhat agree that the Constitution “is a document rooted in racism,” a belief shared by just 28% of whites, 43% of Hispanics and 36% of other minorities. Black voters, Hispanics and other minorities are significantly more likely than whites to agree that the Constitution “should be mostly or completely rewritten.”

– Most of President Joe Biden’s strongest supporters are in favor of rewriting the Constitution. Among voters who Strongly Approve of Biden’s job performance as president, 54% at least somewhat agree that the Constitution “should be mostly or completely rewritten.” By contrast, among voters who Strongly Disapprove of Biden’s performance, just 10% agree that the Constitution should be rewritten and 81% Strongly Disagree with rewriting the Constitution.

“The Constitution has served as the bedrock for liberty in America for more than 230 years,” said Heartland Institute research fellow Donald Kendal. “To see these poll results, where half of Democrats want to see the Constitution ‘mostly or completely rewritten,’ is disheartening. President Calvin Coolidge once said, ‘To live under the American Constitution is the greatest political privilege that was ever accorded to the human race.’ It is a shame that half of self-identified Democrats want to throw that privilege away because of their disdain for the current perceived political landscape.”

While a majority of American voters still have a favorable opinion of the U.S. Supreme Court, Democrats have turned against the court and would support radical changes to the institution.

Even though more voters identify as pro-choice than pro-life, fully half of them approve of the recent Supreme Court ruling that overturned the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision.

Additional information from this survey and a full demographic breakdown are available to the public and Platinum Members.

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