15 charts show the issues Democrats, Republicans, and independents can all agree on — and where they may never be on the same side

Juliana KaplanAug 8, 2024, 17:33 IST

Americans have a big choice to make in 2024, and differing opinions on key issues.Getty Images<ul class="summary-list"><li>This year's election is one like no other, and Americans are split on what they want.</li><li>Polling reveals Americans have divided opinions on key issues like abortion and same-sex marriage.</li></ul>In case you've been stuck on a <a target="_blank" class href="https://nypost.com/2024/07/25/entertainment/julie-chen-big-brother-26-cast-wont-be-told-about-trump-shooting-biden-dropping-out/">reality TV show without your phone</a> — or not reading the news — 2024 is an election year like no other in the US.Already, there are <a target="_blank" class href="https://www.businessinsider.com/jd-vance-couch-sex-joke-author-speaks-2024-7">couches</a>, <a target="_blank" class href="https://www.businessinsider.com/kamala-harris-coconut-tree-memes-khive-joe-biden-debate-2024-7">coconuts</a>, and a sitting president dropping his reelection bid. But when it comes to the policy issues, there are a few where Americans are somewhat united — and a slew where they couldn't agree less.Business Insider <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/american-attitudes-on-key-issues-2017-6">took a look</a> at where Americans fall on key issues. To do so, we used polling from the <a target="_blank" href="https://gss.norc.org/">General Social Survey</a> run by NORC (previously known as the National Opinion Research Center) at the University of Chicago, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.pewresearch.org/">Pew Research Center</a>, and <a target="_blank" href="https://www.gallup.com/home.aspx">Gallup</a>. The GSS has asked self-identified Democrats, Republicans, and independents about their opinions on a wide swath of issues about every two years since the late 1970s, with the most recently released data from 2022. Gallup and Pew also regularly ask about the hottest issues of the day, and we've included more recent results from those pollsters. Here's how Americans feel about abortion, same-sex marriage, and more.

A majority of Democrats and independents believe women should be able to get an abortion for any reason

But Americans are united in believing that the country spends too little on childcare

Most Republicans and independents think the US spends too little on law enforcement

There’s fairly broad support for gay marriage, although still not majority support among Republicans

Americans have mixed feelings about affirmative action, but Democrats support DEI

Americans broadly support the ability to protest against government actions

Democrats and independents think marijuana should be legal

Most Democrats favor gun permits, but the parties used to be more united

Across the board, Americans disagree that men are better suited for politics than women

Americans have confidence in organized labor

Americans really don’t have confidence in Congress

Americans don’t think the US spends too much on mass transportation

Support for spending more on solar and wind power has plummeted among Republicans

Only Democrats support increasing immigration more than decreasing immigration

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15 charts show the issues Democrats, Republicans, and independents can all agree on &mdash; and where they may never be on the same side