Poll reflects national opinions on year to come
WASHINGTON — At home and in their own lives, Americans by and large have an upbeat view of the year to come. When it comes to how the country will fare in 2020, well, that’s another matter.
A new poll released Friday by The Associated PressNORC Center for Public Affairs Research finds that close to four in 10 Americans expect a better year ahead for them personally, while another half expect things to stay about the same. Only about 1 in 10 expect a downturn in their own lives in 2020.
America’s mood takes a darker turn when it comes to the year ahead for the country overall, with about four in 10 saying the way things are going nationwide will get worse. Only about three in 10 think things will get better for America overall in the next 12 months.
2020 is an election year, and, perhaps not unexpectedly, that might have something to do with it: Most Democrats and Republicans alike say they’re dissatisfied with the state of politics.
“Everybody is Republican or Democrat, and there’s less in between,” said Caleb Jud, a 29-year-old customer service representative in Cincinnati. Jud is a left-leaning independent who supports Democratic presidential hopeful Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont, and he is optimistic that the old way of politics is at a breaking point.
“They’ve been saying for years that the middle class is shrinking, but it’s starting to seem now that it’s not just a buzzword,” Jud said.
Roberta Hunt, a 78-yearold Republican in Santa Ana, California, is also frustrated by partisanship. “It’d be fine if we could eliminate the Democrats,” she said of the political system.
Hunt and her husband still have to work to support themselves, and she’s not optimistic that their situation will improve. But she does think the country is on the right track — “there’s less poverty, more people at work.”
Republicans such as Hunt are more likely than Democrats to express optimism that the way things are going in the country will improve, 54% to 11%. They’re also somewhat more likely to feel that their personal situation will improve, 50% to 33%.