Only “inflation or increasing costs” has surpassed crime or gun violence in our poll, undoubtedly because the country is dealing with the highest inflation since the early 1980s. We’ve asked the same 2,000 or so Americans since late April using Ipsos’s KnowledgePanel about what they think are the country’s most important issues, and in our latest wave, 33 percent of the 1,538 adults who responded named crime or gun violence as a top issue facing the country, making it the second-most important topic of the 20 we asked about. For the better part of two years now, crime and gun violence have consistently been in the news and on the minds of Americans, which is why we’re taking a closer look at the topic in the fourth installment of our FiveThirtyEight/Ipsos survey.Īs a single combined issue, “crime or gun violence” has consistently ranked as a top concern in our survey. Debates over whether to fund or defund police. Gun reform legislation for the first time in decades. This article is part of our America's Issues series.ĭevastating mass shootings, one after another.
