Polling on Peace Issues

Americans are tired of endless war and out of control Pentagon spending. Being pro-peace is a political advantage, not a liability.

The Gaza War & Palestinian Rights

Data for Progress Survey — February 2024

• 67% of all likely voters support a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas. A majority in all voting categories — 77% of Democrats, 69% of Independents, and 56% of Republicans — support a ceasefire.
• A majority of all likely voters support the US conditioning military aid to Israel. Voters support placing the following conditions on aid to Israel:
  • Guaranteeing the right of displaced Palestinians to be able to return to their homes in Gaza following the conclusion of the war (71% support)
  • Committing to peace talks with the Palestinians for a two-state solution (68% support)
  • Committing to a de-escalation of violence in Gaza and stopping any indiscriminate bombing to protect Palestinian civilians (65% support)
  • Pledging to stop building settlements in the Palestinian territories, which violates international law (63% support)
  • Pledging to not occupy Gaza following the conclusion of the war (59% support)

Reuters — November 2023

• 32% of respondents said “the U.S. should support Israel” when asked what role the United States should take in the fighting. That was down from 41% who said the U.S. should back Israel in a Reuters/Ipsos poll conducted Oct. 12-13.
• 68% of respondents in the Reuters/Ipsos poll said they agreed with a statement that “Israel should call a ceasefire and try to negotiate.”
• About 3/4 of Democrats and 1/2 of Republicans in the poll supported the idea of a ceasefire.
•  Just 31% of poll respondents said they supported sending Israel weapons, while 43% opposed the idea. The rest said they were unsure.

YouGov — November 2023

• 65% of US adults support a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas. A majority in all voting categories — 77% of Democrats, 60% of Independents, and 58% of Republicans — support a ceasefire.

Data for Progress — October 2023

• 66% of voters “strongly agree” or “somewhat agree” with the following statement: The U.S. should call for a ceasefire and a de-escalation of violence in Gaza. The U.S. should leverage its close diplomatic relationship with Israel to prevent further violence and civilian deaths.
• This includes 80% of Democrats, 57% of Independents, and 56% of Republicans.

Gallup Poll — March 2023

• Democratic sympathies in the Middle East now lie more with the Palestinians than the Israelis, 49% versus 38%.
• Sympathy toward the Palestinians is also at a new high among political independents, up six points to 32%. However, more independents still lean toward the Israelis (49%).
• There is a shifting view on the question among younger generations. Among millennials, 42% sympathize more with the Palestinians and 40% with the Israelis. There were too few adult Gen Z members in the poll, but the limited data suggest their views are similar to millennials.
• As a result, sympathy toward the Palestinians among U.S. adults is at a new high of 31%. It is the first time Israel has not enjoyed a better than 2-to-1 advantage over the Palestinians in Americans’ sympathies.

Economist/YouGov Poll — March 2023

• 21% of Democrats say they side with the Palestinians and 19% with the Israelis; 34% say their sympathies are equally split.

Pentagon Spending

Data for Progress Poll — October 2023

• 80% of likely voters believe the Pentagon should pass an audit before its budget can be increased. Voters across party lines strongly agree on this, including 80% of Democrats, 82% of Independents, and 79% of Republicans.
• 81% of voters also support a proposal that would add requirements before private sector defense contractors can receive advance payments on goods and services for the US military—including delivering goods and services on time and showing that they are not increasing their prices unnecessarily. There is overwhelming support for this across party lines: 82% of Democrats, 85% of Independents, and 79% of Republicans.
• 83% of votes support requiring defense contractors to prove their prices align with actual costs, which would help prevent gouging. Across party lines, 84% of Democrats, 84% of Independents, and 82% of Republicans support the proposal.

Data for Progress Survey — May 2022

• 63% of voters oppose an increase in military spending above Biden’s request.
• 55% of voters report they are “somewhat concerned” or “very concerned” about current proposals for $813 billion in defense spending next year.
• 83% of Democratic voters say Pentagon spending should not exceed current levels when thinking about proposals to increase funding, versus 8% who say military spending should be higher.
• When informed about how much the military is poised to receive, as compared to other agencies, 51% of Republican voters say the military budget should not be raised further, versus 37% who think too little is spent.

YouGov Poll — January 2022

• 56% of U.S. adults support cutting Pentagon spending, and reinvesting those funds in pandemic recovery, health care, and jobs.
• A plurality of U.S. adults (47%) agree that spending $422 billion annually on defense contractors—more than half of the Pentagon budget—wastes public funds.
• 57% of U.S. adults agree that the U.S. should engage in dialogue with China—and reduce spending that would undermine talks.
• 50% of U.S. adults support cutting Pentagon spending on fossil fuels.

Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation & Institute Survey — November 2021

• When Americans were asked what the highest priority for increased funding should be, the military ranks fifth as a priority at 11%, behind healthcare (23%), border security (17%), education (15%), and infrastructure (14%).
• While 39% of Americans think the U.S. spends about the right amount on the military (with 26% believing it’s too much and 27% believing it’s too little), they overwhelmingly say too little is spent on all other listed priorities (with border security at 47%, healthcare at 56%, education at 58%, and infrastructure at 61%).

YouGov and Concerned Veterans for America Poll — January 2021

• A majority of the general public (60%), veterans (61%), and military households (64%), say military/defense spending should be decreased or kept the same.

Data for Progress — July 2020

• 57% of voters support cutting the defense budget by 10% to reallocate funding to the CDC and other more pressing domestic needs.

YouGov, Charles Koch Institute Poll — July 2020

• A plurality (37%) think we should decrease Pentagon spending, compared with only 13% who think it should be increased. When a separate set of respondents was presented with the same question but with an initial sentence laying out the bleak national debt picture, the numbers rise significantly, with roughly half (49%) believing we should decrease Pentagon spending, and only 8% thinking we should increase it.

Ukraine

Washington Post-ABC News Poll — May 2022

• 76% of the people who took the poll believe that the U.S. should provide more humanitarian support to Ukraine.
• 72% oppose the U.S. taking direct military action on Russia.
• 80% are concerned about Russia’s use of nuclear weapons.

Pew Research Poll — March 2022

• Most Americans (62%) say they would oppose the U.S. “taking military action even if it risks a nuclear conflict with Russia.”
• Nearly seven-in-ten Americans (69%) favor admitting thousands of Ukrainian refugees into the U.S., including majorities of those in both parties.

Ipsos/Reuters Poll — March 2022

• Americans oppose sending U.S. troops to Ukraine 61% to 39%.
• Americans oppose using airstrikes to support the Ukrainian army 60% to 40%.
• 62% of Americans believe it is worth paying more for fuel & gas because of sanctions against Russia to defend another democratic country.
• 77% of Americans support seizing the assets of Russian oligarchs affiliated with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Marist College/NPR/PBS NewsHour Poll — March 2022

• 70% of American adults were concerned (including 36% who were “very” concerned) that the conflict between Russia and Ukraine would lead to the use of nuclear weapons.

YouGov/CBS News Poll — February 2022 

• Americans oppose sending U.S. troops to defend Ukraine, 71% to 29%.

Iran

Data for Progress Poll — July 2022

• 78% of all voters believe the U.S. must use diplomatic tools to stop Iran’s nuclear weapons program. Only 12% believed military action was the approach to take.
• 67% of all voters support a new agreement with Iran, as opposed to 20% who oppose it. This includes 82% of Democrats (vs. 10% opposed), 65% of Independents/Third Party (vs. 22% opposed), and 56% of Republicans (vs. 29% opposed).

Morning Consult/Politico Survey — February 2022

• A clear majority of voters, 53%, said they supported the 2015 Iran deal, compared with only 24% who oppose it.

Morning Consult Poll — December 2021

• Overall, a majority of Americans (56%) support the 2015 Iran nuclear deal as opposed to 26% who oppose it. Even by partisan breakdown, more voters across the board still support than oppose the deal—with 52%-26% of Independents, 43%-39% of Republicans, and 72%-13% of Democrats.
• Overall, 42% of Americans would be willing for the government to lift sanctions on Iran if that was a condition for resumed talks.
• Even if the nuclear deal proves unsuccessful, only 36% of Americans would support ground military intervention in Iran versus 38% who oppose it.

JStreet Poll —  October 2021

• 69% of Jewish voters support U.S. reentery into the Iran nuclear agreement.

Chicago Council on Global Affairs, the University of Maryland and IranPoll Survey —  April 2021

• A majority of Americans – 57 % – said that U.S. should participate in the Iran nuclear deal.
• A clear majority of Iranians – 69% – said that Tehran should comply with the JCPOA if the U.S. lifted sanctions.

YouGov and Concerned Veterans for America Poll —  January 2021

• A plurality of general public (44%), veterans (42%), and military households (44%) are in favor of more diplomacy over military action to deal with Iran.

POLITICO/Morning Consult Poll — January 2020

• 71% of registered voters approve (43% strongly, 28% somewhat) of President Trump’s decision not to take further military action against Iran after Iran’s January missile launch. Only 14% (7% strongly, 7% somewhat) of registered voters disapproved of that.

Endless Wars

Gallup Poll —  July 2021

• 47% of Americans believe the U.S. made a mistake sending military troops to Afghanistan, versus 46% who said it was not a mistake.

YouGov and Concerned Veterans for America Poll —  January 2021

• A majority of veterans (68%) strongly or somewhat support a full withdrawal from Iraq.
• Veterans by and large (56%) want less military engagement.
• A vast majority of the general public (80%) believe our military engagement around the world should be reduced or stay about the same.

YouGov, Charles Koch Institute Poll — July 2020

• A plurality (48%) think the U.S. should be less militarily engaged in the world. Only 7% think we should be more engaged.
• 74% of respondents support, either strongly (44%) or somewhat (30%), bringing U.S. troops home from Iraq, with only 11% in opposition.

IRC/YouGov Poll — November 2018

• 75% of Americans oppose US military support to the Saudi and Emirati-led coalition in Yemen.
• 82% agree Congress must vote to end or decrease arms sales to Saudi Arabia.

Nuclear Weapons

Chicago Council Survey — July 2020

• Two-thirds of Americans (66%) believe that no country should be allowed to have nuclear weapons, including majorities of Republicans (54%), Democrats (78%), and Independents (64%).

YouGov Poll — September 2019

•  49% of Americans think that the US should work with the other nuclear-armed countries to eliminate all nuclear weapons globally.

ReThink Media Poll — April 2019

• 79% of Americans are concerned about the president’s “sole authority” to launch a nuclear strike. Of the 79%, 71% see a No First Use policy as a practical remedy.
• 80% of Democrats and 64% of Republicans support bipartisan cooperation to “reduce the number of nuclear weapons in the world.”
• 88% of Democrats, 69% of Independents, and 54% of Republicans support a policy slate including No First Use, negotiated weapons reductions, and spending only what is required for deterrence.