If it's in the News, it's in our Polls. Public opinion polling since 2003.

Public Content

Most Recent Releases

White letter R on blue background
February 19, 2015

Why Outside Spending Is Overrated By Alan I. Abramowitz

The Koch brothers and their network of wealthy conservative donors recently announced that they intend to spend almost $900 million on the 2016 elections. This level of spending by a group operating independently of any candidate or political party would be unprecedented in American politics. In fact, it would exceed the combined spending by the Democratic National Committee and the Republican National Committee during the 2012 election cycle. Understandably, this announcement reinforced concerns among Democrats and liberals that spending by the Koch brothers and other conservative groups could give Republican candidates a crucial advantage in key House and Senate contests and in the race for the White House.

February 19, 2015

A Home Seller’s Market? Not Quite Yet

Confidence in home ownership as a family investment has hit a year-high, but Americans still have mixed feelings about whether now’s a good time to sell a home.

(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 and Facebook.

The survey of 800 Adults was conducted on February 15-16, 2015 by Rasmussen Reports. The margin of sampling error is +/- 3.5 percentage points with a 95% level of confidence. Field work for all Rasmussen Reports surveys is conducted by Pulse Opinion Research, LLC. See methodology.

February 18, 2015

32% Say U.S. Heading in Right Direction

Thirty-two percent (32%) 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 February 15.

This finding is down two points from the previous week. The week ending January 25, the percentage of voters who felt the country was heading in the right direction hit 35%, the highest level in nearly two years, but has been trending down since then. The number of voters who think the country is heading in the right direction has been 30% or higher since mid-December after being in the mid- to high 20s most weeks since mid-June 2013.

(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 2,800 Likely Voters was conducted by Rasmussen Reports from February 9-15, 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.

White letter R on blue background
February 18, 2015

Rasmussen Reports Straw Poll on Immigration

Here's one of the regular questions we ask of voters nationwide in a Rasmussen Reports political tracking survey. What's your answer?

February 18, 2015

Homeowners Are Making Good on Their Mortgages

Most homeowners are making their mortgage payments on time, but Americans don’t want the government assisting those who can’t.

(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 657 American Homeowners and 800 American Adults was conducted on February 15-16, 2015 by Rasmussen Reports. The margin of sampling error is +/- 3.5 percentage points with a 95% level of confidence. Field work for all Rasmussen Reports surveys is conducted by Pulse Opinion Research, LLC. See methodology.

February 18, 2015

How Far Should States Go in Defying the Feds?

Voters still champion states’ rights over the federal government but draw the line at ignoring federal court rulings as is the case now in Alabama over same-sex marriages.

(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 survey of 800 Likely Voters was conducted on February 16-17, 2015 by Rasmussen Reports. The margin of sampling error is +/- 3.5 percentage points with a 95% level of confidence. Field work for all Rasmussen Reports surveys is conducted by Pulse Opinion Research, LLC. See methodology.

February 18, 2015

Global Warming vs. Terrorism? Voters Decide

President Obama said in a recent interview that the media overhypes the threat of terrorism and downplays the long-term threat of climate change and epidemic diseases. Voters by far, however, see terrorism as the bigger long-term threat to the United States. (To see survey question wording, click here.)

(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 Facebook.

The survey of 800 Likely Voters was conducted on February 12-13, 2015 by Rasmussen Reports. The margin of sampling error is +/- 3.5 percentage points with a 95% level of confidence. Field work for all Rasmussen Reports surveys is conducted by Pulse Opinion Research, LLC. See methodology.

White letter R on blue background
February 18, 2015

No Gatekeepers by John Stossel

For years, people assumed encyclopedias had to be created by professionals. Then Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales attempted to create an encyclopedia without central planners.

February 17, 2015

Is That A Sinking Feeling in the Housing Market?

After reaching six-year highs in January, homeowners’ confidence in the future of the housing market has returned to levels found over the last couple years.

(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 657 American Homeowners was conducted on February 15-16, 2015 by Rasmussen Reports. The margin of sampling error is +/- 4 percentage points with a 95% level of confidence. Field work for all Rasmussen Reports surveys is conducted by Pulse Opinion Research, LLC. See methodology.

February 17, 2015

Voters Weigh Costs of Obama’s Amnesty Plan

Voters still view President Obama’s order exempting up to five million illegal immigrants from deportation as illegal and tend to think Congress should try to stop it. But they’re evenly divided over whether a partial shutdown of the Department of Homeland Security is the way to do it.

(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 survey of 800 Likely Voters was conducted on February 14-15, 2015 by Rasmussen Reports. The margin of sampling error is +/- 3.5 percentage points with a 95% level of confidence. Field work for all Rasmussen Reports surveys is conducted by Pulse Opinion Research, LLC. See methodology.

White letter R on blue background
February 17, 2015

Is the Federal Government A Growing Threat?

Voter distrust in the federal government continues to climb.

(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 survey of 800 Likely Voters was conducted on February 12-13, 2015 by Rasmussen Reports. The margin of sampling error is +/- 3.5 percentage points with a 95% level of confidence. Field work for all Rasmussen Reports surveys is conducted by Pulse Opinion Research, LLC. See methodology.

White letter R on blue background
February 17, 2015

Democrats' 'Blue Wall' not Impregnable to Republicans -- If They're Smart By Michael Barone

Do Republicans have a realistic chance to win the next presidential election? Some analysts suggest the answer is no. They argue that there is a 240-electoral-vote "blue wall" of 18 states and D.C. that have gone Democratic in the last six presidential elections.

A Democratic nominee needs only 30 more electoral votes to win the presidency, they note accurately. A Republican nominee, they suggest, has little chance of breaking through the blue wall. He (or she) would have to win 270 of the 298 other electoral votes.

February 16, 2015

Generic Congressional Ballot: Republicans 39%, Democrats 38%

Republicans hold the edge over Democrats for the second week in a row on the Generic Congressional Ballot.

(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 2,800 Likely Voters was conducted by Rasmussen Reports from February 9-15, 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.

February 16, 2015

Is There Holiday Competition for George Washington This Presidents Day?

Today, Americans pay tribute to the man who started it all, George Washington, but some suggest that other presidents need a day of their own. (To see survey question wording, click here.)

(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 800 Adults was conducted on February 13-14, 2015 by Rasmussen Reports. The margin of sampling error is +/- 3.5 percentage points with a 95% level of confidence. Field work for all Rasmussen Reports surveys is conducted by Pulse Opinion Research, LLC. See methodology.

February 16, 2015

Leave Mount Rushmore Alone

Mount Rushmore, the mountain in South Dakota chiseled with the giant likenesses of George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, Thomas Jefferson and Theodore Roosevelt, is perhaps America's most iconic symbol of the presidency. But the thought of adding any of the more recent presidents to the sculpture leaves most Americans cold. 

(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 800 Adults was conducted on February 13-14, 2015 by Rasmussen Reports. The margin of sampling error is +/- 3.5 percentage points with a 95% level of confidence. Field work for all Rasmussen Reports surveys is conducted by Pulse Opinion Research, LLC. See methodology.

February 16, 2015

Voters Like Health Insurance But Not If It’s Mandated

Most have health insurance they like, but voters still balk at the federal government forcing Americans to get this type of insurance.

The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that 41% of Likely U.S. Voters think the government should require every American to buy or obtain health insurance. But a plurality (47%) disagrees and opposes the so-called individual mandate that is a key element of the new national health care law. Twelve percent (12%) are undecided. (To see survey question wording, click here.)

(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 800 Likely Voters was conducted on February 14-15, 2015 by Rasmussen Reports. The margin of sampling error is +/- 3.5 percentage points with a 95% level of confidence. Field work for all Rasmussen Reports surveys is conducted by Pulse Opinion Research, LLC. See methodology.

February 15, 2015

Voters See Money and Congress As a Bad Combination

Voters continue to find the large number of millionaires serving in Congress troubling and to question how they got that way.

(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 800 Likely Voters was conducted on February 8-9, 2015 by Rasmussen Reports. The margin of sampling error is +/- 3.5 percentage points with a 95% level of confidence. Field work for all Rasmussen Reports surveys is conducted by Pulse Opinion Research, LLC. See methodology.

February 14, 2015

What They Told Us: Reviewing Last Week’s Key Polls - Week Ending February 14, 2015

Words, words, words. Words make a difference. Take “net neutrality."

It sounds good, right? After all, it’s “neutral,” and supporters, including President Obama and the Democratic majority on the Federal Communications Commission, say it will ensure that the Internet remains a level playing field. But critics who include congressional Republicans say net neutrality is really just a cover for government control of the Internet, and they don’t like where that leads.

February 13, 2015

Is It Love or Is It Valentine's Day?

Americans still don’t put much stock into Valentine’s Day, and it remains a day of dread for one-in-five adults.

(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 800 American Adults was conducted on February 11-12, 2015 by Rasmussen Reports. The margin of sampling error is +/- 3.5 percentage points with a 95% level of confidence. Field work for all Rasmussen Reports surveys is conducted by Pulse Opinion Research, LLC. See methodology.

February 13, 2015

Americans Share Their Plans for Valentine’s Day

Most Americans aren’t planning anything very special to celebrate Valentine’s Day.

(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 800 American Adults was conducted on February 11-12, 2015 by Rasmussen Reports. The margin of sampling error is +/- 3.5 percentage points with a 95% level of confidence. Field work for all Rasmussen Reports surveys is conducted by Pulse Opinion Research, LLC. See methodology.