74% of Americans think country is headed in the wrong direction ahead of midterms

Despite political polarization in America, voters agree that the country is not going in the right direction, according to the 13th annual American Values Survey conducted by the nonpartisan Public Religion Research Institute (PRRI) and the Brookings Institution.

"Nearly three in four Americans (74%) say things in this country are going in the wrong direction, compared with 24% who say the country is moving in the right direction," the survey found. "Large majorities of Republicans (93%) and independents (76%) say the country is moving in the wrong direction, compared with a narrower majority of Democrats (53%)."

The poll was released only 12 days before the 2022 midterms.

"Approximately three-quarters of Americans agree that the country is heading in the wrong direction, but there is considerable division over whether the country needs to move backward — toward an idealized, homogeneous past — or forward, toward a more diverse future," PRRI explained. "Though most Americans favor moving forward, a sizable minority yearn for a country reminiscent of the 1950s, embrace the idea that God created America to be a new promised land for European Christians, view newcomers as a threat to American culture, and believe that society has become too soft and feminine. This minority is composed primarily of self-identified Republicans, white evangelical Protestants, and white Americans without a college degree. The majority of Americans, however, especially younger Americans, the religiously unaffiliated, and Democrats, are more likely to embrace a competing vision for the future of America that is more inclusive."

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The survey found 49% think America is better since the 1950s, while 49% say it has gotten worse.

"Those who are most likely to say the country is moving in the wrong direction are also most likely to say things have gotten worse since the 1950s. Two-thirds of Republicans (66%) believe things have changed for the worse since the 1950s, compared with half of independents (50%) and only 30% of Democrats," PRRI found. "Answers to this question also correlate with media consumption. Those who most trust conservative media (77%) and Fox News (70%) among television news sources are much more likely than those whose most trusted news source is a non-television source (52%) or a mainstream television source (39%) to say the country has changed for the worse since the 1950s. Additionally, people who agree that things have gotten so far off track that true American patriots may have to resort to violence in order to save our country are more likely than those who disagree with that statement to say the country has changed for the worse (71% vs. 43%)."

Voters are split on what is the trouble with voting, but widely back congressional action to protect voting rights.

"Americans are divided on what the bigger problem is today: 49% say eligible voters being denied the right to vote is a bigger problem than people casting votes who are not eligible, while 46% say the latter is the bigger problem," PRRI wrote. "Most Americans (64%) think Congress should pass a voting rights law to guarantee every citizen access to the ballot, while 31% say voting rights decisions should be left to the states. Large majorities of Democrats (89%) and independents (68%) support Congress passing a voting rights law, while only 42% of Republicans agree."

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The survey also looked at views on abortion after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe vs. Wade in its Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization decision.

"Six in ten Americans (61%) oppose overturning Roe, while 35% favor it. Most Democrats (82%) oppose it, including 71% who strongly oppose it. Additionally, 63% of independents oppose the move," PRRI found. "Majorities of all religious groups except white evangelical Protestants (37%) and other Christians (44%) oppose the decision to overturn Roe, including 78% of religiously unaffiliated Americans, 73% of Black Protestants, 73% of non-Christian religious Americans, 67% of white mainline Protestants, 56% of white Catholics, and 52% of Hispanic Catholics."

The survey also found little appetite for a Donald Trump vs. Joe Biden rematch in 2024.

"More than two-thirds of Democrats and Democrat-leaning independents (68%) say someone other than Biden should be the Democratic presidential nominee in 2024, compared with about three in ten who say Biden should be the nominee (31%)," the poll found. "Republicans and Republican-leaning independents are divided over whether they want Donald Trump to be the presidential nominee in the 2024 election. Just less than half of Republicans and Republican-leaning independents (47%) say Trump should be the nominee, while a slim majority say they would prefer someone else (52%)."

Read the full survey.