Science march support varies by political party, age

Opinions about the coordinated science marches that took place last month in Washington DC, and around the world, vary significantly by political affiliation and age, according to new analysis by the Pew Research Center. After surveying more than 1000 US adults shortly after the 22 April March for Science, the centre found that 48% of those polled ‘support’ or ‘strongly support’ the goals of these marches. However, Democrats and those that lean towards the party indicated their support for the march by a 68% to 14% margin, while Republicans and others of a more conservative nature opposed the goals of the march by a 47% to 25% margin.

Overall, 44% of the respondents believe that the demonstrations will boost public support for science, with an equal share saying the protests will make no difference, and 7% saying the demonstrations will actually hurt the cause. However, these results were also strongly divided along political and generational lines. Of those that favoured the Democrats, 61% said the marches will increase public support for science, while just 22% of Republican backers agreed.

The Pew data further show that optimism about the marches is significantly higher among younger adults. Approximately 55% of those surveyed aged 18 to 29 predicted that the demonstrations will increase public support for science, while 54% of those 65 years and older said they won’t affect public support for science.