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.
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Further Reading
Growing National Debt Sets Off Alarm Bells for U.S. Business Leaders
Debt rising unsustainably threatens the country’s economic future, and a number of business leaders have signaled their concern.
Infographic: The National Debt Is Now More than $36 Trillion. What Does That Mean?
Although the national debt affects each of us, it may be difficult to put such a large number into perspective.
The U.S. Just Had Its Highest Deficit Outside of Major War or Recession
One of the reasons to restrain debt and maintain a sustainable fiscal outlook is that emergencies arise that may necessitate federal support.