January Harvard CAPS / Harris Poll: Voters Want Negotiations on the Debt Ceiling And Think Biden's Handling of Classified Documents Is a Serious Breach That Should Be Investigated

NEW HOUSE SPEAKER KEVIN MCCARTHY EMERGES WITH MODERATE CONSERVATIVE IMAGE FROM THE SPEAKERSHIP FIGHT, NOT FAR RIGHT

OVERWHELMING MAJORITY (OVER 8 IN 10 VOTERS) WANTS CONGRESS TO PASS LEGISLATION THAT SECURES SOCIAL SECURITY

TWO-THIRDS OF VOTERS SUPPORT COMPROMISE IMMIGRATION REFORM THAT SECURES THE BORDER AND HELPS DACA RECIPIENTS

NEW YORK and CAMBRIDGE, Mass., Jan. 20, 2023 /PRNewswire/ — Stagwell (NASDAQ: STGW) today released the results of the January Harvard CAPS / Harris Poll, a monthly collaboration between the Center for American Political Studies at Harvard (CAPS) and the Harris Poll and HarrisX.

President Joe Biden’s approval rating remains stable but underwater at 42%. Ahead of the looming debt ceiling fight, 63% of voters want Congress to raise the limit but with restraints on future spending. Download key results from the poll here.

“Most voters think that the Biden classified documents are a serious issue and there is bipartisan support to investigate what happened, and whether the Biden team was aware of this issue before the midterms,” said Mark Penn, Co-Director of the Harvard-CAPS Harris Poll and Stagwell Chairman and CEO. “The Biden White House has so far appeared flat footed on this issue.”

Added Penn: “Most voters also want Democrats to come to the table on debt ceiling negotiations because their frustrations over what they see as runaway spending are boiling over. Biden and the Democrats will need to act strategically as we head into the 2024 election cycle.”

BIDEN’S CLASSIFIED DOCUMENTS CONCERN MOST AMERICANS, INCLUDING DEMOCRATS

• 64% of voters, including 44% of Democrats, think the presence of classified documents in several unsecure locations is a “serious” breach of national security.
• Over 7 in 10 voters support both the House of Representatives and the FBI investigating how these documents were misplaced.
• Half of voters, including one-third of Democrats, think the DOJ treated Biden’s classified documents case more leniently than Donald Trump’s.
• 74% of voters, including two-thirds of Democrats, support the Attorney General’s appointment of a special prosecutor for the Biden documents case.

VOTERS SIDE WITH REPUBLICANS ON DEBT CEILING NEGOTIATIONS AND SPENDING RESTRAINTS

• Americans care greatly about default: 69% of voters, including over two-thirds of each party, think a temporary debt default would be a “huge issue.”
• When given the size of the national debt ($31 trillion), 63% of voters want Congress to raise the debt limit only with restraints on future spending.
• Americans side with the GOP on negotiations: 61% of voters, including a slim majority of Democrats themselves, think the Democrats should cave to prevent a default.

KEVIN MCCARTHY EMERGES WITH MODERATE IMAGE FROM THE SPEAKERSHIP FIGHT

• 78% of voters see McCarthy as moderate or conservative, not far right.
• 53% of voters, including a majority of both parties, think McCarthy will work with Democrats to create bipartisan legislation.

SUPPORT FOR SOCIAL SECURITY AND IMMIGRATION LEGISLATION UNITES AMERICANS

• 85% of voters, including 88% of Republicans, want legislation that secures Social Security for two more decades.
• Two-thirds of voters, including 62% of Republicans, want compromise immigration legislation that strengthens the border but also gives DACA recipients a path to citizenship.

AMERICANS ARE SPLIT ON NON-COMPETES BUT WANT MORE CRYPTOCURRENCY REGULATION

• 60% of Democrats support and 60% of Republicans oppose the prospect of an FTC executive order that would ban all non-compete agreements.
• A majority of voters want more regulation on cryptocurrencies and consumer privacy/security on the Internet, but less or equal regulation on marijuana.

The January Harvard CAPS / Harris Poll survey was conducted online within the United States from January 18-19, 2023, among 2,050 registered voters by The Harris Poll and HarrisX. Follow the Harvard CAPS Harris Poll podcast at https://www.markpennpolls.com/ or on iHeart Radio, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and other podcast platforms. 

The Harris Poll is a global consulting and market research firm that strives to reveal the authentic values of modern society to inspire leaders to create a better tomorrow. It works with clients in three primary areas: building twenty-first-century corporate reputation, crafting brand strategy and performance tracking, and earning organic media through public relations research. One of the longest-running surveys in the U.S., The Harris Poll has tracked public opinion, motivations, and social sentiment since 1963, and is now part of Stagwell, the challenger holding company built to transform marketing.

HarrisX is a technology-driven market research and data analytics company that conducts multi-method research in the U.S. and over 40 countries around the world on behalf of Fortune 100 companies, public policy institutions, global leaders, NGOs and philanthropic organizations. HarrisX was the most accurate pollster of the 2020 U.S. presidential election.

The Center for American Political Studies (CAPS) is committed to and fosters the interdisciplinary study of U.S. politics. Governed by a group of political scientists, sociologists, historians, and economists within the Faculty of Arts and Sciences at Harvard University, CAPS drives discussion, research, public outreach, and pedagogy about all aspects of U.S. politics. CAPS encourages cutting-edge research using a variety of methodologies, including historical analysis, social surveys, and formal mathematical modeling, and it often cooperates with other Harvard centers to support research training and encourage cross-national research about the United States in comparative and global contexts. More information at https://caps.gov.harvard.edu/.