Poll: Americans see sharply divided nation

WASHINGTON — With just two weeks to go until the midterm elections, an overwhelming majority of Americans say the United States is greatly divided, according to an Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research poll. Few Americans believe those stark divisions will get better anytime soon.

The newly released survey found that more than eight in 10 Americans think the country is greatly divided about important values. Just 20 per cent of Americans say they think the country will become less divided over the next few years, and 39 per cent think things will get worse.

A strong majority of Americans, 77 per cent, say they are dissatisfied with the state of politics in the country.

The poll was conducted Oct. 11-14 in the final sprint to the midterm elections, in which President Donald Trump has been rallying his supporters to turn out to vote in November. Overall, 59 per cent of Americans disapprove of how Trump, a Republican, is handling his job as president, while 40 per cent of Americans approve.

How Americans view Trump divides along partisan lines, according to the poll. While 83 per cent of Republicans approve of how Trump is handling his job, 92 per cent of Democrats and 61 per cent of independents say they do not approve.

According to the poll, nearly half of Americans say they aren’t hearing enough from campaigns about the issues that matter most to them. Fifty-four per cent of Democrats and 44 per cent of Republicans say they are hearing too little about key issues.

Overall, top issues for Americans include health care, education, economic growth, Social Security and crime, each of which was called very important by at least three-quarters of Americans.

Fifty-eight per cent of Americans say they are dissatisfied with the way things are going in the country, compared with 25 per cent who say they are satisfied. But Americans are slightly more likely to be satisfied with the way things are going in their state or in their local community.

Majorities of Americans also say that they are dissatisfied with the gap between the rich and the poor, race relations and environmental conditions. But there are partisan splits. Eighty-three per cent of Democrats are dissatisfied with the gap between the wealthy and the poor, compared with 43 per cent of Republicans.

Of environmental conditions, 75 per cent of Democrats and 32 per cent of Republicans say they are dissatisfied. And while 77 per cent of Democrats say they’re dissatisfied with race relations, about 50 per cent of Republicans say the same.

Democrats and Republicans also are divided on how important they consider each of those issues to be. About eight in 10 Democrats but no more than a third of Republicans call income inequality, environmental issues or racism very important.

The past year has seen the United States reckon with accusations of sexual misconduct that ranged from inappropriate comments to rape and with a slew of high-profile men forced to resign or be fired.

Overall, about six in 10 Americans said the issue of misconduct was important to them. But 73 per cent of women said the issue was very important, compared with 51 per cent of men. Democrats were much more likely than Republicans to call sexual misconduct important, 79 per cent to 39 per cent.

According to the poll, 43 per cent of Americans somewhat or strongly disapprove of Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh’s confirmation to the Supreme Court after a bruising confirmation fight that included allegations of excessive drinking and sexual assault dating back to Kavanaugh’s teenage years.

Thirty-five per cent of Americans said they strongly or somewhat strongly approved of Kavanaugh’s confirmation.