Pew Poll: More Democrats See Russia as Major Threat

More Democrats are viewing Russia as a problem for the United States, while fewer Republicans are seeing Russia that way, according to a Pew poll released Thursday.

The poll conducted between Jan. 4 and Jan. 9 shows differences between April of last year and today.

Percentages of those who say Russia’s power and influence threaten the well-being of the United States:

Among Democrats:

• April 2016: 37 percent.
• Jan. 2017: 67 percent.

Among Republicans:

• April 2016: 46 percent.
• Jan. 2017: 41 percent.

Among all voters, regardless of party affiliation, more people are feeling that Russia is a threat:

• April 2016: 42 percent.
• Jan. 2017: 54 percent.

The Pew survey also looked at the changing opinions Americans had on the dispute between Israel and the Palestinians. Both have gained some support since 1978, Pew’s report said.

Those who sympathize with Israel:

• 1978: 45 percent.
• 2017: 51 percent.

Those who sympathize with the Palestinians:

• 1978: 14 percent.
• 2017: 19 percent.

Breaking down that number by party affiliation, in 1978 both parties had similar opinions about sympathies toward Israel, but those numbers have diverged since then:

• Republicans sympathetic to Israel in 1978: 49 percent.
• Republicans favoring Israel in 2017: 74 percent.

Democrats’ sympathies toward Israel have declined:

• Democrats sympathetic toward Israel in 1978: 44 percent.
• Democrats favoring Israel in 2017: 33 percent.

Voters who do not ally themselves with either party have not changed their opinions as drastically. In 1978, 45 percent of those voters sympathized with Israel, and today that number is 50 percent, according to Pew.

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