Both Democratic and Republican voters want the presidential candidates to take to make the debt a larger campaign issue, according to recent polls conducted by Global Strategy Group and North Star Opinion Research. Voters widely agree (79%) that a presidential candidate from their party should make the national debt one of the top three priorities of his or her campaign, including overwhelming majorities of Democrats (71%) and Republicans (92%).
Voters want to hear more about the national debt during the primaries, with a clear majority (71%) agreeing that primary candidates should make addressing the debt a larger part of their campaign platforms. Only 15% of voters believe the issue should make up a smaller part of campaigns' platforms.
Furthermore, candidates can benefit electorally by committing to plans to address the debt: Of the 1,006 registered voters polled, 55% said that they would be more likely to vote for a candidate for president who supports a bipartisan plan to address the debt. A majority of voters — 51% of Democrats and 64% of Republicans — also said they would be more interested in this year's elections if candidates spent more time focusing on the issue.
For a more detailed breakdown of the polling results and methodology, check out the polling memo. If you also care about the national debt, you can let the candidates know.
Image credit: Getty Images
Further Reading
What Is the National Debt Costing Us?
Programs that millions of Americans depend on and care about may be feeling a squeeze from interest costs on our high and rising national debt.
Interest Costs on the National Debt Are Reaching All-Time Highs
The most recent CBO projections confirm once again that America’s fiscal outlook is on an unsustainable path — increasingly driven by higher interest costs.
New Report: National Debt Outlook Gets Worse as Interest Costs Exceed $1 Trillion Annually
A new CBO report shows that the national debt outlook worsened from last year’s projections.