Loading…
Which party do you think would do a better job of handling the nation’s economy, the Democrats, the Republicans, or wouldn’t there be much difference between them? {1996: IF ‘NO DIFFERENCE’ AND ‘NEITHER PARTY’ ARE VOLUNTEERED, DO NOT PROBE RESPONSES. 2000-later: IF ‘DK’ OR ‘NEITHER PARTY’ IS VOLUNTEERED, DO NOT PROBE]}
Party better at handling the nation's economy · Asked in 12 waves, 1990–2024 · 38,709 responses · weighted estimates computed from individual responses
Codes that include 'no Pre/Post IW' were dropped for respondents without that interview. Kept and flagged: -9 (other_missing), -8 (dk). Codebook notes: 1992 NOTE: Respondent booklet used. 1996,2002-later: Order of parties was randomized in the question text. In 2020, the response options changed slightly: 1. Democrats would do a much better job 2. Democrats would do a somewhat better job 3. Not much difference between them 4. Republicans would do a somewhat better job 5. Republicans would do a much better job. In VCF9205, response options 1 and 2 were coded “1” (Democrats) while 4 and 5 were coded “3” (Republicans).
Dashed lines mark changes in how interviews were done, which can shift answers: 1. → mixed mode (2012).
Shares of people who gave an answer. Each column is one wave, evenly spaced rather than to scale in time; hover for exact shares.
| Group | Democrats | No difference | Republican | Neither party {VOL} (exc. 1996,2004) | n | MoE | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| All respondents |
| Poll | Field dates | Mode | Respondents | Responses |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ANES 2024 Time Series Study Source variable: V241236. | 2024-08-03 to 2025-02-17 | mixed | 5,521 | 5,516 |
| ANES 2020 Time Series Study Source variable: V201239. | 2020-08-18 to 2021-01-04 | mixed | 8,280 | 8,273 |
| ANES 2016 Time Series Study Source variable: V161144. | 2016-09-07 to 2017-01-09 | mixed | 4,270 | 4,267 |
| ANES 2012 Time Series Study Source variable: ptyperf_ptyecon. | 2012-09-09 to 2013-01-13 | mixed | 5,914 | 5,913 |
| ANES 2008 Time Series Study Source variable: V083093. | 2008-09-02 to 2008-12-30 | face to face | 2,322 | 2,321 |
| ANES 2004 Time Series Study Source variable: V043109. | 2004-09-07 to 2004-12-19 | face to face | 1,212 | 1,211 |
| ANES 2002 Time Series Study Source variable: V023031. | 2002-09-18 to 2002-12-06 | phone | 1,511 | 1,508 |
| ANES 2000 Time Series Study |
Dashed lines mark changes in how interviews were done, which can shift answers: 1. → mixed mode (2012).
Shares of people who gave an answer. A group’s column is left blank in waves where its effective sample is under 50; hover for exact shares.
| 34% |
| 21% |
| 46% |
| – |
| 5516 |
| ±2 |
| Democrats | 73% | 18% | 9% | – | 1929 | ±3 |
| Independents (incl. leaners) | 23% | 33% | 44% | – | 1808 | ±3 |
| Republicans | 1% | 9% | 89% | – | 1743 | ±3 |
ANES 2024 Time Series Study · US citizens 18+ (face-to-face samples: contiguous 48 states and DC; web samples: 50 states and DC). Shares of people who gave an answer. n is unweighted; ± is the 95% margin of error at 50% from the weighted effective sample. Groups with an effective sample under 50 are grayed; under 20, hidden.
| 2000-09-05 to 2000-12-22 |
| mixed |
| 1,807 |
| 1,807 |
| ANES 1996 Time Series Study Source variable: V960397. | 1996-09-03 to 1997-01-02 | mixed | 1,714 | 1,634 |
| ANES 1994 Time Series Study Source variable: V940829. | 1994-11-09 to 1995-01-08 | mixed | 1,795 | 1,795 |
| ANES 1992 Time Series Study Source variable: V923545. | 1992-09-02 to 1993-01-16 | mixed | 2,485 | 2,484 |
| ANES 1990 Time Series Study Source variable: V900390. | 1990-11-06 to 1991-01-21 | face to face | 1,980 | 1,980 |