48% Oppose Eliminating Filibuster

Democrats are pushing to end the U.S. Senate’s filibuster rule, most voters think this “important distinction” between the House and Senate is worth preserving.

A new national telephone and online survey by Rasmussen Reports finds that 48% of Likely U.S. voters oppose elimination of the Senate’s filibuster rule, which can prevent a vote from taking place unless 60 senators agree. Forty percent (40%) support changing Senate rules so that a vote must be held whenever a majority of senators agree. Twelve percent (12%) are not sure. (To see survey question wording, click here.)

Even more voters agree with Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer – when the New York Democrat was in the minority and defended the filibuster. “The legislative filibuster… is the most important distinction between the Senate and the House,” Schumer said in 2017. “Without the 60-vote threshold for legislation, the Senate becomes a majoritarian institution like the House... no Senator would like to see that happen.”

Fifty-eight percent (58%) of voters agree with that quote from Schumer, including 39% who Strongly Agree. Twenty-five percent (25%) disagree, including 11% who Strongly Disagree, while 18% are not sure.

While 66% of Democratic voters now favor eliminating the filibuster, 74% of Republicans oppose changing the Senate rule, and a majority (51%) of voters not affiliated with either major party are also against ending the filibuster rule. In April 2017, when Senate Democrats were opposing then-President Donald Trump’s nomination of Neil Gorsuch to the Supreme Court, 70% of Democratic voters were against eliminating the filibuster rule.

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The survey of 1,000 U.S. Likely Voters was conducted on January 10-11, 2022 by Rasmussen Reports. The margin of sampling error is +/- 3 percentage points with a 95% level of confidence. Field work for all Rasmussen Reports surveys is conducted by Pulse Opinion Research, LLC. See methodology.

Eighty-two percent (82%) of voters say they have closely followed news about the Senate, including 50% who have followed Senate news Very Closely. Among voters who have Very Closely followed news about the Senate, 49% oppose eliminating the filibuster, while 45% support the change.

Men (53%) are more likely than women voters (44%) to oppose elimination of the filibuster rule. Men are also more likely to say they have been closely following news about the Senate.

While 49% of voters under 40 favor changing the Senate rule, solid majorities of older voters are against eliminating the filibuster rule. Sixty percent (60%) of voters 65 and older agree with Schumer’s 1997 defense of the filibuster as an “important distinction” between the Senate and the House of Representatives.

While a majority (51%) of Black voters support eliminating the filibuster, only 39% of whites and 35% of other minorities agree. Forty-eight percent (48%) of whites, 36% of Black voters and 57% of other minorities oppose changing the Senate rules to eliminate the filibuster.

Voters with annual incomes of $100,000 or more and those with postgraduate education are more likely to support elimination of the filibuster.

President Joe Biden’s strongest supporters are most enthusiastic to eliminate the filibuster. Among voters who Strongly Approve of Biden’s job performance as president, 88% support Democrats’ plan to change the Senate rules so that a vote must be held whenever a majority of senators agree. By contrast, among voters who Strongly Disapprove of Biden’s performance, 84% are opposed to the plan to eliminate the filibuster.

President Joe Biden would lose an election rematch to former President Donald Trump, who would win among independents and almost evenly split Hispanic voters.

Voter confidence in President Joe Biden’s ability to do the job remains low and most don’t expect a second term for the oldest president in U.S. history.

Additional information from this survey and a full demographic breakdown are available to Platinum Members only.

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