Democracy in 2024 election/ Harris vs Trump democracy concerns/ AP VoteCast democracy poll/ Trump supporters democracy/ Harris voters democracy/ Newslooks/ WASHINGTON/ J. Mansour/ Morning Edition/ For both Kamala Harris and Donald Trump voters, democracy emerged as a leading concern in the 2024 presidential election, but each side viewed the issue from opposite perspectives. Harris supporters feared Trump would endanger democratic principles, while Trump’s base viewed the current administration as tyrannical.
Democracy Tops Concerns for Harris and Trump Voters, Each with Unique Fears Quick Looks
- Democracy as top issue: Half of voters identified democracy as their main motivator in the election.
- Harris supporters’ view: Two-thirds of Harris voters worried Trump would threaten democracy.
- Trump supporters’ concerns: Trump voters saw Harris as pushing authoritarianism through alleged government overreach.
- Split views on free speech: Trump voters saw free speech as at risk, while Harris supporters focused on election security.
Democracy Tops Concerns for Harris and Trump Voters, Poll Shows
Deep Look
While inflation and immigration were prominent issues in the 2024 presidential race, concerns over democracy itself emerged as a crucial motivating factor for voters on both sides. According to an AP VoteCast survey of over 120,000 voters, half of respondents said the future of democracy was their primary reason for voting—a sentiment that transcended party lines but split sharply in interpretation.
Harris Supporters See Democracy Under Threat from Trump
For Democratic voters backing Kamala Harris, concerns over democracy stemmed largely from fears that Donald Trump would undermine democratic institutions. Approximately two-thirds of Harris supporters ranked democracy as their top issue, eclipsing other concerns like inflation, reproductive rights, or free speech.
Harris leaned into this theme toward the end of her campaign, calling Trump a “fascist” and warning that his return to power could erode America’s democratic values. This fear was echoed by former officials from Trump’s first administration, who voiced concerns over his fitness for office. Harris supporters like Audrey Wesley, 90, of Minneapolis, cited Trump’s legal battles and past actions, including his efforts to challenge the 2020 election results and his influence on the January 6 Capitol riot, as reasons for their support of Harris.
For some, Trump’s alignment with the conservative Project 2025 blueprint, outlining potential Republican policy goals, heightened fears of an authoritarian shift. “That’s very scary as to what he wants to do,” Wesley said, expressing alarm over Trump’s willingness to restructure government policies.
Trump Voters Also See Democracy at Risk, But with Different Concerns
For Trump’s supporters, democracy was similarly a leading issue, but their concerns focused on what they saw as the Biden-Harris administration’s overreach. Approximately one-third of Trump voters cited democracy as their primary motivation, worried that Democratic policies had pushed the country toward tyranny.
Debbie Dooley, a co-founder of the Tea Party movement, voiced concerns about government control under Democratic leadership. “When people fear their government, there is tyranny,” Dooley said, quoting Thomas Jefferson. She pointed to immigration issues and the perception that the Department of Justice was being used against political opponents, calling these actions indicative of authoritarian behavior.
Other Trump supporters expressed frustration with perceived restrictions on free speech, especially in social media. Dooley praised Elon Musk’s acquisition of Twitter (now X) for restoring what she saw as conservative voices on the platform, stating, “Thank God for Elon Musk.”
Two Interpretations of Democracy’s Challenges
Although both Harris and Trump voters expressed concerns over democracy, their definitions diverged significantly. Among Harris supporters, 9 in 10 feared that Trump’s return would bring the U.S. closer to authoritarianism. Similarly, 8 in 10 Trump voters worried that Harris represented a path toward authoritarian rule. Brendan Nyhan, a political scientist at Dartmouth, attributed these parallel fears to both campaigns’ rhetoric. “It’s not surprising that many Democrats correctly perceived Trump as a threat,” he said, adding that Trump has also effectively turned the democracy narrative against his opponents.
For example, Harris’s stance on border security evoked vastly different reactions depending on party lines. For some Harris supporters, border policies represented humanitarian values. For many Trump supporters, however, it symbolized an erosion of national sovereignty and fed into theories like the “great replacement,” which claims immigration threatens white Americans’ influence.
Free Speech as a Dividing Issue
The survey revealed that freedom of speech was a particularly sensitive issue for Trump voters concerned about democracy. Nearly all Trump supporters who cited democracy as their main concern felt that free speech was under attack, often pointing to the suppression of conservative voices during the pandemic and the perceived bias in social media platforms. By contrast, Harris voters focused more on safeguarding democratic processes, such as fair elections and peaceful transfers of power.
Concession and the Call for National Unity
In her concession speech at Howard University, Harris underscored the importance of accepting election results, a principle that she said “distinguishes democracy from monarchy or tyranny.” For many, her words reflected a broader call for unity in respecting election outcomes, regardless of political affiliation.
Yet Leah Wright Rigueur, a professor at Johns Hopkins University, warned that democracy remains fragile in an increasingly polarized America. “The 2024 presidential election was fundamentally an example of democracy in action,” Rigueur said, noting that Trump won the Electoral College and the popular vote. However, she questioned whether future elections would see the same degree of acceptance, especially as voters increasingly view democracy as valid only when their side wins.
The survey’s results indicate that democracy, while a shared priority across party lines, is increasingly defined by ideological divides. Moving forward, reconciling these conflicting visions of democracy may be essential for fostering a more unified national identity.
