Only about one out of 10 Americans say democracy is working in the United States. About half, Republicans and Democrats alike, say the nation's politics do not reflect their values, according to a new poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research.
In the survey, released Friday, 49% said Democracy is not working well, with just 10% saying it works very or extremely well and 40% saying it's only working somewhat well, reports The Hill.
People were almost evenly divided about which party they believe is doing a bad job of upholding democracy, with 47% saying Democrats are doing a bad job and 56% saying that about Republicans.
In addition, 53% of the poll's respondents said Congress is doing a bad job of upholding democratic values, with 16% saying they are doing a good job.
"I don't think either of them is doing a good job just because of the state of the economy — inflation is killing us," Michael Brown, a conservative who responded to the poll, commented to The Associated Press. "Right now I'm making as much as I ever have, and I'm struggling as much as I ever have."
He also complained that politicians are fighting over things that have "nothing to do with the economy," but instead are squabbling over things like President Joe Biden's son.
"Hunter Biden — what does that have to do with us?" Brown said.
The poll also revealed that Americans don't feel that "people like them" are represented by government interests, with 60% of Republicans and 40% of Democrats saying they don't believe they are represented well.
There was a partisan divide on government spending, with 80% of Republicans saying it is not aligned with public opinion and 54% of Democrats agreeing.
Americans also agreed the most on climate change policy, with 54% of Republicans and 56% of Democrats agreeing that it aligns with public opinion.
The poll also revealed that 71% of Americans think what the public wants should be highly important when laws and policies are made, but just 48% said they think that happens.
And when it comes to specific issues:
- Two-thirds say policies on guns, immigration, spending, and abortion do not represent most Americans' views.
- Just under two-thirds say the same about the economy, gender identity, and LGBTQ+ issues.
- More than half said the government's policies reflect poorly on what Americans want on the environment and health care.
The survey was conducted with 1,220 adults in late June and had a 3.9% margin of error.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
© 2026 Newsmax. All rights reserved.