Poll: 81% believe democracy under threat; only 23% not worried about post-election violence

 

SOUTH MILWAUKEE, Wis. (CBS 58) -- A nationwide poll has found four out of five voters worry democracy is currently threatened in the United States. Those concerns cross party lines; a vast majority of both Democratic and Republican respondents shared concerns about democracy's health in the U.S.

The poll, organized by Georgetown University in Washington, D.C., was carried out by two firms, the liberal Lake Research Partners and conservative Tarrance Group.

800 people were surveyed last month between March 9-14. Among those respondents, 81% answered yes to the question 'Is democracy in our country being threatened?' Broken down by region, the greatest concern was in the Midwest, where 93% answered yes.

Celinda Lake, president of Lake Research Partners, one of two lead pollsters for President Joe Biden's 2020 campaign, told Wisconsin reporters on a call Wednesday a focus group survey produced a score of 70 on a scale between 0 and 100, with 0 being total harmony and 100 being the brink of civil war.

"They're very worried about civil war. They are very worried about division," Lake said of voters. "They're very much of the opinion that elected officials ought to be able to work together."

Ed Goeas, president of The Tarrance Group, previously worked for the campaigns of Republican former governors John Kasich of Ohio and Mary Fallin of Oklahoma. He was also on Wednesday's call. 

Goeas said he worried the polling revealed an increasingly cynical public growing tired of choosing between two candidates they don't like. He noted the 2024 rematch between President Biden and former President Donald Trump will mark the third straight presidential election between two candidates who both have higher unfavorable ratings than favorable.

"I think it promises to be as bad or worse than the other two elections combined," Goeas said. "And the voters are concerned about it. That is all the way through the data."

Among Republicans, 77% said they worried democracy was under threat while 86% of Democrats voiced that concern. 76% of independent voters answered yes. 

The pollsters said they were also taken aback by the responses to a question asking voters how much they worried violence will follow the 2024 election. 16.5% said they were extremely worried, 19.5% said they were very worried, 41.1% said they were somewhat worried about violence and only 22.5% said they were not worried at all about post-election violence.

Visiting one of Wisconsin's few 50-50 battlegrounds

In terms of politics, one of the most evenly divided parts of Wisconsin can be found in South Milwaukee. For elections, the south shore city is divided into four districts consisting of four wards apiece. 

The fourth district, which makes up the northwest section of the city, narrowly backed President Biden in 2020. The margin between those four wards was just nine votes with 1,354 supporting Mr. Biden while 1,345 voted for Mr. Trump.

Within that district is a small shop on Rawson Avenue called 'Everything for Less.' Karen Ocken opened the store in 2020 as an overstock resale business.

Voters in District 4 in South Milwaukee were evenly divided in 2020. 1,354 backed President Biden while 1,345 supported Donald Trump.

"It's been a little bit of a struggle," she admitted. "It's a small store."

Ocken said she recently switched up the model, selling coffee, tea and snacks to go along with the knickknacks. She's hoping to draw some of the students and parents from nearby schools, and she recently started to foster kittens inside the store, which has been a bit of a hit.

"Breaks the ice, starts conversations," she said. "There's something about animals."

Ocken said she lived most of her life in Walworth County, but after her husband passed away in 2018, she moved to South Milwaukee, citing an affinity for Lake Michigan. 

She said one of her goals with the new business model is to make the shop something of a gathering place. She's even begun scheduling 'conversation nights' on Wednesdays.

Given that goal, Ocken was disturbed by the Georgetown survey results.

"That's horrible, you know? To have that many people thinking that things are gonna so south," Ocken said when hearing the survey results about post-election violence. "If people are afraid of violence after an election, that doesn't seem like the America that we know and idealize."

At the same time, Ocken said she sensed an opportunity for her business to do its part in keeping her community united. 

"It takes getting people together for them to realize that they're really alike or like-minded," she said.