Abstract
Over the past two years, Americans have lived through several political shocks—both at home and abroad. In 2023, the removal of House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, the Supreme Court’s reversal on affirmative action, the outbreak of the Israel–Hamas war, and Donald Trump’s multiple indictments shook the political landscape. In 2024, Americans faced a series of events surrounding the presidential election—Trump’s conviction on felony charges, the Supreme Court’s subsequent ruling granting him presidential immunity, Joe Biden’s faltering debate performance that led to his withdrawal and Kamala Harris’s nomination, and Trump’s return to the White House. Since the new administration took office in January 2025, policy shifts across a wide range of domains—including tariffs, education, immigration, and foreign affairs—have given Americans a lot to think about.
With so many options, which issues do Americans think are most important? Data from the Weidenbaum Center Survey (WCS) between October 2023 and May 2025 offer key insights. The WCS is a nationally representative survey, including an oversample of African Americans, fielded by YouGov three times each year by faculty affiliated with the Weidenbaum Center on the Economy, Government, and Public Policy at Washington University in St. Louis. The rich data reveal notable trends in how Americans think about the nation’s most important problem.
Across time and party lines, the economy and inflation topped Americans’ concerns. Yet Democrats and Republicans differed in which policy areas—such as climate change, immigration, and gun control—and which issues of governance—like democracy, polarization, and party leadership—they viewed as the nation’s most important problems.
Document Type
Report
Publication Date
11-6-2025
Language
English (en)
Report Number
Report No. 1
DOI link
Author's ORCID
Hwayong Shin, https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1639-5444
Recommended Citation
Shin, Hwayong, "Americans' Top Concerns Reflect Both Common Ground and Partisan Splits: Economy Unites, but Policy and Politics Divide" (2025). Weidenbaum Center Survey (WCS) Reports. 1.
The definitive version is available at https://doi.org/10.7936/q007-q774