UMass Amherst Poll Releases New Findings on Presidential Election, National Issues, and the Government

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Early this month, UMass Amherst Poll released the findings of three polls asking participants about the upcoming presidential election, the state of the union, and the U.S. government. 

In results released on February 5th, survey results indicated that voters are nonplussed at a potential rematch between President Biden and former President Trump. Out of 1,064 voters polled, 53% said it would be better if Trump did not run for president, and 57% of respondents said it would be better if Biden had not sought reelection. "Americans are going into the 2024 presidential election with bad feelings. More than half would prefer that neither Biden nor Trump ran for president and about half would be disappointed if either Biden or Trump won. The big reason for this malaise is that 63% of Americans view both Biden and Trump as old and 48% say they are out of touch with the issues facing the country today," says Jesse Rhodes, political science and co-director of UMass Amherst Poll. 

Poll results released on February 6th provide insights into how Americans view the current state of the nation. Their views are dim on many issues, including the economy, immigration, and Israel-Hamas war. On the economy, Alexander Theodoridis, political science and co-director of UMass Amherst poll, notes, "A huge disconnect persists between positive economic indicators and public perceptions of the economy." Jesse Rhodes explains, "Although the inflation rate [in the U.S.] has declined noticeably over the past year, the very high inflation from 2021 and 2022 is now baked into prices, particularly in areas such as housing, food, and fuel costs." These increased costs are fueling negative views of the economy, as Americans continue to struggle to make ends meet. 

Findings from the Poll released on February 7th indicate that a plurality of voters (41%) believe that Trump should not be included on their state's ballot in 2024 due to his role in the January 6th insurrection. Of those polled, 58% believe that Trump is likely guilty of attempting to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election. In regards to the upcoming hearing on Trump's eligibility to appear on ballots, many respondents believe that Associate Justice Clarence Thomas should recuse himself from the case. "While the ethical questions concerning Thomas swirl, the associate justice has given no indications that he plans to remove himself from the case," notes Tatishe Nteta, political science and director of UMass Poll. "However, in doing so, he would be in direct opposition to the public's wishes, as 64% of the public believe that Thomas should remove himself, with close to 4 in 10 stating that he 'definitely should remove himself.' 

Topline and crosstab data for these polls, plus information on previous polls, can be found on the UMass Amherst Poll website.  

Media coverage of the UMass Poll data is ongoing and will be covered on this page. 

Rolling Stone has written an article focused on the answer to the survey question, "Donald Trump recently said that if elected, he would a dictator only on the first day of his second term. Do you think that is a good or bad idea for the country?" Additional outlets, including The Washington Post and MSNBC, have covered this story as well. 

MassLive and WCVB have covered the release of results from the UMass Amherst Poll.