To: All Interested Parties
From: John McLaughlin & Brittany Davin
Re: National Survey Executive Summary – Voters Overwhelmingly Support Term Limits for Congress
Date: January 15, 2018
Survey Summary:The results of our recently completed national survey show that voters overwhelmingly believe in implementing term limits on members of Congress. Support for term limits is broad and strong across all political, geographic and demographic groups. An overwhelming 82% of voters approve of a Constitutional Amendment that will place term limits on members of Congress. Four-in-five voters believe that it is important for President Trump to keep his promise to support term limits for members of Congress by calling on Congress to vote for term limits, the majority of voters, 54%, believe it is very important for the President to keep his promise.
Do you approve or disapprove of a Constitutional Amendment that will place term limits on members of Congress?
| Total | Rep. | Dem. | Ind. | Hispanic | A.A.* | White | |
| Approve | 82% | 89% | 76% | 83% | 72% | 70% | 86% |
| Strongly | 56% | 63% | 45% | 63% | 45% | 46% | 61% |
| Somewhat | 26% | 26% | 31% | 20% | 27% | 24% | 26% |
| Disapprove | 9% | 6% | 12% | 8% | 18% | 15% | 6% |
| Somewhat | 6% | 3% | 8% | 6% | 12% | 8% | 5% |
| Strongly | 3% | 2% | 4% | 2% | 6% | 6% | 2% |
| Don’t Know | 9% | 6% | 12% | 9% | 11% | 16% | 8% |
*A.A. represents African American voters surveyed
During his campaign for President, Donald Trump promised that he would support term limits for members of Congress, how important is it for President Trump to keep his promise to support term limits for members of Congress by calling on Congress to vote for term limits.
| Total | Rep. | Dem. | Ind. | Hispanic | A.A.* | White | |
| Important | 79% | 91% | 69% | 79% | 80% | 60% | 83% |
| Very | 54% | 62% | 45% | 54% | 51% | 43% | 57% |
| Somewhat | 26% | 29% | 24% | 25% | 29% | 17% | 26% |
| Not Important At All | 12% | 6% | 19% | 11% | 13% | 27% | 9% |
| Unsure | 9% | 3% | 12% | 10% | 7% | 13% | 8% |
If a bill were introduced in Congress to place term limits on members of Congress, would you want your senator and congressman to vote yes or no on this bill?
| Total | Rep. | Dem. | Ind. | Hispanic | A.A.* | White | |
| Yes | 77% | 82% | 69% | 80% | 68% | 64% | 81% |
| No | 6% | 6% | 7% | 5% | 10% | 10% | 5% |
| Undecided | 17% | 12% | 24% | 15% | 21% | 26% | 14% |
Nearly three-in-four voters, 73%, are more likely to vote for a candidate for U.S. Congress who supports implementing term limits on Congress, 42%, are much more likely.
Would you be more likely or less likely to vote for a candidate for U.S. Congress who supports implementing term limits for members of Congress?
| Total | Rep. | Dem. | Ind. | Hispanic | A.A.* | White | |
| More Likely | 73% | 80% | 64% | 77% | 71% | 58% | 78% |
| Much More | 42% | 45% | 33% | 49% | 39% | 27% | 46% |
| Somewhat More | 31% | 35% | 31% | 27% | 32% | 31% | 31% |
| Less Likely | 8% | 5% | 11% | 8% | 15% | 16% | 5% |
| Somewhat Less | 5% | 3% | 7% | 4% | 9% | 7% | 3% |
| Much Less | 3% | 2% | 3% | 4% | 6% | 9% | 1% |
| No Difference | 11% | 9% | 16% | 6% | 6% | 13% | 11% |
| Don’t Know | 8% | 6% | 10% | 9% | 9% | 14% | 7% |
Conclusions:
American voters overwhelmingly support placing term limits on members of Congress. The support for term limits is strong, broad and intense, to vote for members of Congress who will vote “yes” on term limits, and against those who will vote “no” against term limits for members of Congress.
Methodology: This survey of 1,000 likely general election voters nationwide was conducted on Jan. 5th to 11th, 2018. All interviews were conducted online; survey invitations were distributed randomly within predetermined geographic units. These units were structured to correlate with actual voter turnout in a nationwide general election. This poll of 1,000 likely general election voters has an accuracy of +/- 3.1% at a 95% confidence interval. The error margin increases for cross-tabulations. Key Demographics:
Party:
| Total | |
| Republican | 33% |
| Democrat | 36% |
| Independent/Other | 31% |
Gender:
| Total | |
| Men | 47% |
| Women | 53% |
Ideology:
| Total | |
| Liberal | 24% |
| Moderate | 40% |
| Conservative | 37% |
Race:
| Total | |
| White | 71% |
| Asian/Asian American | 4% |
| African American | 12% |
| Hispanic | 11% |
| Other | 2% |
Age:
| Total | |
| 18-29 | 15% |
| 30-40 | 17% |
| 41-55 | 25% |
| 56-65 | 23% |
| Over 65 | 20% |
| Mean | 49 |
To view this memo in .pdf form – Natl Term Limits Executive Summary 1-15-18
