In January 2025, North Carolinians reported being 32 percent pessimistic about the strength of American democracy, while 27 percent were optimistic; 41 percent were neutral. In March, North Carolinians were almost evenly divided among the three categories: 35% neutral, 35 percent optimistic, and 30 percent pessimistic.
Since the inauguration of President Donald Trump, changes are evident in how North Carolina partisans view the health of the country’s democracy.
In January’s survey, self-identified Democrats in North Carolina were 32 percent optimistic to 31 percent pessimistic, with 36 percent neutral. Two months later, pessimism among Democrats was at 45 percent—a clear plurality—while optimism dropped to 24 percent. Neutral feelings about American democracy dropped slightly to 31 percent among Democrats.
Among self-identified Republicans, they too were evenly divided between pessimism and optimism in January: 31 percent to 30 percent, respectively, with 39 percent neutral. However, with their party controlling the national government, 56 percent of Republicans in March rated American democracy optimistically, while only 8 percent were pessimistic. Neutral responses among Republicans were slightly lower than in January, down to 36 percent.
“The health and perception of American democracy is crucial to our self-governing system,” said Dr. Michael Bitzer, professor of politics and history and director of the Center for North Carolina Politics & Public Service, which commissioned the YouGov poll. “If you simply look at the percentages at the most extreme responses—zero for “American democracy has failed” versus 10 for “American democracy is the strongest it has ever been”—you’ll find fundamental shifts in how partisans view our civic health. Democrats went from 7 percent in January saying a zero, that American democracy has failed, to now 14 percent.”
“Conversely, Republicans who gave American democracy a ten went from 4 percent in January to 10 percent in March,” Bitzer said. “There was also a significant shift to more optimistic responses among Republicans from their January responses. Yet again, partisanship seems to be dictating how Americans view the health of their democracy.”
The March poll, conducted by YouGov from March 10th to 20th, 2025, has a margin of error (adjusted for weights) of +/- 3.6 percent for the 1,000 weighted respondents, with larger margins of error among sub-groups. The January 2025 poll, which was co-sponsored by Western Carolina University’s Haire Institute for Public Policy, was conducted January 7-30 and has a margin of error (adjusted for weights) of +/- 3.08 percent. ‘Optimistic’ were those responses from 7-10 grouped together; ‘neutral’ was 4-6 grouped; and ‘pessimistic’ where those responses from 0-3 grouped. All results should be interpreted as informative and not determinative.
NORTH CAROLINIANS MORE OPTIMISTIC ABOUT STATE OF DEMOCRACY WITHIN THE STATE AND THEIR LOCAL COMMUNITIES
In addition, the March 2025 poll expanded questions to North Carolinians on the strength of democracy within the state and their local communities.
Among all North Carolinians, 32 percent were optimistic regarding the state of democracy in North Carolina, while 20 percent were pessimistic; nearly half (48 percent) were neutral. Like the state of American democracy, however, partisan differences are apparent.
Among self-identifying Republicans, 43 percent were optimistic about democracy in North Carolina, with 45 percent neutral and only 12 percent pessimistic. Among self-identified Democrats, only a third—32 percent—were optimistic, while a quarter—24 percent—were pessimistic. Forty-six percent were neutral.
Among self-identifying independents, a majority—52 percent—were neutral, while 26 percent were optimistic and 22 percent pessimistic.
When asked about the strength of democracy within their local communities, 35 percent were optimistic compared to 15 percent pessimistic, while nearly half—49 percent—were neutral. Democrats were slightly more optimistic about their local democracy than for the state, at 38 percent, while only 15 percent were pessimistic. Republicans had the highest level of optimism at 44 percent, nearly matching the 45 percent who were neutral and well above the 11 percent who were pessimistic.
Independents, however, were decidedly neutral on the state of democracy in their localities: 54 percent were neutral, while 27 percent were optimistic, and 19 percent were pessimistic.
“While a solid third of North Carolinians held optimistic views of the state of democracy at the national, state, and local levels, significant levels were ‘neutral’ about their views on the strength of democracy at the state and local levels,” Bitzer said.
He added, “in our democratic republic, all three levels of government—national, state, and local—are critical components to how Americans engage in self-governance. And while fewer North Carolinians are pessimistic regarding the governing levels closest to citizens, significant neutral feelings about democracy aren’t a healthy component for the future.”
BEYOND PARTISANSHIP, DEMOGRAPHICS SHOW DISTINCT DIFFERENCES IN NORTH CAROLINIANS’ VIEWS OF DEMOCRACY’S STRENGTHS
Beyond the partisan views of the America’s civic health, various demographics show distinctive differences when it comes to the national, state, and local levels and the strength of democracy in each.
Within the racial-ethnic data of North Carolina respondents, Black North Carolinians were most pessimistic (39 percent) about the strength of democracy at the national level, while White North Carolinians were either neutral (37 percent) or optimistic (36 percent). Conversely, at the state level, Blacks were the most optimistic (at 36 percent), while Whites were the most neutral (at 50 percent).
Among the income categories, those making $100,000 or more were the most optimistic at all three levels: 39 percent at the national, 38 percent at the state, and 42 percent at the local level. This was also true across the generational cohorts, with the Silent and Boomer generations (combined) having the highest optimism percentages of the three cohorts: 40 percent at the national, 36 percent for North Carolina, and 42 percent at the local level.
Gender demonstrates gaps between men and women: regarding the strength of the national democracy, men were 43 percent optimistic while women were 37 percent pessimistic. Among those with a 4-year college education, 37 percent of them were pessimistic (a plurality), while 39 percent of non-college graduates were neutral about the state of the nation’s democracy. Only at the local level did a significant plurality—41 percent—of college educated express optimism.
