Two competing narratives have emerged in the wake of the terrorist shooting massacre at a gay nightclub in Orlando, Florida: President Obama and most Democratic leaders say it highlights the need for increased gun control, while most prominent Republicans say it represents the growing threat of domestic Islamic terrorism. Voters are divided along similar partisan lines when it comes to how best to prevent such attacks in the future.
An openly gay candidate for the White House is still a long shot, but voters under 40 are a lot more enthusiastic about the prospect than their elders are.
Voters aren’t overly enthusiastic about how President Obama and the two likely major party presidential candidates have responded to the Orlando terrorist massacre, but the president does best, especially among those who want more gun control. Democrats are happier with Hillary Clinton’s response than Republicans are with Donald Trump’s.
It’s lucky for them that this year’s presidential election isn’t a popularity contest or both major party candidates might lose.
Most voters think the government won't be able to stop further terrorist attacks on the homeland and say the country’s Islamic community should be doing more to condemn such violence.
Most voters say the massacre at an Orlando gay nightclub this past weekend is more about terrorism than gun control, but most also agree that someone on a terrorist watch list should not be able to purchase a gun.
Voters, especially men, would rather have a beer with Donald Trump, but they're evenly divided over which of the major presidential candidates they would invite home for dinner.
The trial of a Stanford University freshman charged with sexually assaulting an unconscious woman has drawn widespread criticism for the perceived leniency of the judge’s sentencing. An overwhelming number of Americans agree that the six-month jail sentence is too easy, and most say cases like Stanford are fair game for politicians to discuss publicly.
Democrats are much more enthusiastic than other voters about giving felons back their right to vote after they’ve served their time.
Radical Islamic terrorism raised its ugly head again this weekend, but most Americans saw the horror in Orlando coming nearly three months ago.
With Hillary Clinton poised to become the first woman nominated by a major U.S. political party to be president, most voters still say they’re willing to vote for a woman president and are slightly more confident that those close to them will do the same. But voters are less enthusiastic about a women candidate in general if her opponent is a man.
President Obama may be garnering unusually high approval ratings lately, but voters are closely divided as to whether his support would help or hurt candidates running in their state and are less likely to vote for a congressional candidate who has supported his agenda.
After winning three state primaries yesterday, Hillary Clinton is set to become the first woman in history to get a major party’s nomination for president of the United States.
Of course, Democratic voters have been predicting a Clinton victory for months in Rasmussen Reports’ monthly Hillary Meter survey. But how do voters feel about the prospect of a woman president?
Donald Trump has been rebuked even by some leaders in his own party for his public criticism of the Obama-appointed federal judge who is handling the lawsuit against Trump University. Most voters agree judges are motivated by politics more than the law but are less comfortable with dragging judges into the political debate.
As is the case on most issues Rasmussen Reports has asked about so far, voters tend to think Hillary Clinton will perform similarly to President Obama when it comes to social issues if she wins the presidency, while they expect big changes from Donald Trump - although not necessarily positive ones.
Former students of the now-defunct Trump University have filed a federal lawsuit against the for-profit educational institution started by presumptive GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump alleging fraud and predatory business tactics. However, most voters nationwide say the issue will not impact their support of Trump positively or negatively in the upcoming election.
Most voters view the Black Lives Matter movement unfavorably. Perhaps in part that’s because they tend to think the U.S. justice system is less likely to be unfair to blacks than to Americans in general.
The inclusion of Libertarian candidate Gary Johnson on a hypothetical 2016 general election ballot makes little difference in terms of support for likely major party nominees Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton, with a sizable number of voters still looking elsewhere.
A sizable number of voters continue to believe President Obama has ignored the U.S. Constitution more than most of his predecessors, and those voters overwhelmingly believe he's been motivated by politics rather than doing the right thing. His defenders strongly disagree.
