A new poll released by NBC News and sponsored by More Perfect, a nonpartisan nonprofit, shows that Americans are generally willing to bury political differences in certain scenarios.
Released on the Fourth of July, the poll and its partnering piece was centered around the fact that nearly 80% of Americans said they’d attend a Fourth of July party with someone on the opposite side of the political spectrum. However, the poll didn’t stop there.
Beyond collecting data about the Fourth of July, NBC News and More Perfect surveyed 3,000 adults to learn when and where Americans would be willing to put politics aside.
The majority of Americans in the study were open to forgetting their political ideals in the proposed scenarios, except for one.
According to the NBC News poll, 86% of the surveyed Americans said they’d have dinner with a person of a differing political mindset. 13% said they would not.
83% of the survey respondents also said they’d be willing to attend an event with someone who doesn’t align with their political values.
Regarding community engagement, 77% of people agreed to work with somebody of the opposite party to coach a youth sports team or volunteer at a service organization.
72% said they would serve in a community or civic leadership position with someone on the opposite end of the political spectrum. 70% also agreed to attend a religious ceremony with a person of the who has a contrasting political mindset.
64% of Democrats and 82% of Republicans agreed to attend a ceremony with an individual of the opposite party.
Lastly, 75% said they would have a conversation about politics with someone who has a differing perspective. 75% of Democrats and 79% of Republicans said “yes” in regard to this hypothetical.
While the general survey pool was open to crossing the political divide under the proposed circumstances, there is one area in which the majority definitively decided not to: companionship and marriage.
47% of Americans said they’d live with or marry somebody whose political ideals don’t match their own. 51% said they would not.
51% of Republicans and 38% of Democrats were open to marrying or living with a partner from the other side of the political aisle.
The poll surveyed 3,000 adults through a combination of telephone interviews and online surveys between May 29 and June 7.
Each of the questions was asked to 1,500 adults, with a margin of error of plus or minus percentage points, according to NBC News.
Peter Burditt covers trending news and service journalism for The Tennessean. Contact him at PBurditt@nashvill.gannett.com
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