July 31, 2024: By a margin of 49% to 45%, RMG-defined elites — those who live in the most densely populated urban areas, have postgraduate degrees, and make more than $150,000 a year — believe it is more important for the power of the federal government to be limited to protect the rights and freedoms of individual Americans than for the government to have the power to do whatever most voters want.
Among all voters, 57% believe it is more important for the federal government's power to be limited to protect individuals, while 33% say it is more important for the government to be able to do whatever voters want.
The survey also found that America's elites would prefer the federal government set uniform rules that apply to the whole country (49%) rather than state and local governments establishing rules that best reflect the circumstances in their own areas (45%). Among all voters, 61% believe rules should be left to state and local governments, while just 32% think it is more important for the federal government to set uniform rules.
Methodology
The survey of 500 elites was conducted online by Scott Rasmussen on July 18-21, 2024. Fieldwork for the survey was conducted by RMG Research, Inc. Elites were defined as having a postgraduate degree, having a household income of more than $150,000 annually, and living in a ZIP code with more than 10,000 people per square mile. Approximately 1% of the total U.S. population meets these criteria. The margin of sampling error for the full sample is +/- 4.4 percentage points.
The survey of 1,000 registered voters was conducted online by Scott Rasmussen on July 17-18, 2024. Fieldwork for the survey was conducted by RMG Research, Inc. Certain quotas were applied, and the sample was lightly weighted by geography, gender, age, race, education, internet usage, and political party to reasonably reflect the nation's population of registered voters. Other variables were reviewed to ensure that the final sample is representative of that population. The margin of sampling error for the full sample is +/- 3.1 percentage points.
Note: Scott Rasmussen is the president of RMG Research, Inc. He hosts "The Scott Rasmussen Show" on Merit Street Media Sunday mornings at 10 Eastern.
Survey Questions
(Among Elites) Is it more important for the federal government to have the power to do whatever most voters want or for the power of the federal government to be limited to protect the rights and freedoms of individual Americans?
- 45%-For the federal government to have the power to do what voters want
- 49%-For the power of the federal government to be limited
- 6%-Not sure
(Among All Voters) Is it more important for the federal government to have the power to do whatever most voters want or for the power of the federal government to be limited to protect the rights and freedoms of individual Americans?
- 33%-For the federal government to have the power to do what voters want
- 57%-For the power of the federal government to be limited
- 10%-Not sure
(Among Elites) Is it more important for the federal government to set uniform rules that apply to the entire nation or for state and local governments to establish rules that best reflect the circumstances in their own areas?
- 45%-For the federal government to set uniform rules
- 49%-For state and local governments to establish rules
- 6%-Not sure
(Among All Voters) Is it more important for the federal government to set uniform rules that apply to the entire nation or for state and local governments to establish rules that best reflect the circumstances in their own areas?
- 32%-For the federal government to have the power to do what voters want
- 61%-For the power of the federal government to be limited
- 8%-Not sure
Scott Rasmussen is founder and president of the Rasmussen Media Group. He is a political analyst, author, public speaker, independent public opinion pollster and a columnist. Read Scott Rasmussen's Reports — More Here.
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