Many Americans View Virus Along Party Lines.

• Position: News Brief

It probably comes as no surprise that Republicans and Democrats largely disagree over the seriousness of several major problems currently facing the country, including the severity of the COVID-19 virus, according to a Pew Research Center survey conducted in mid-June 2020.

For the most part, while both parties viewed these issues as problems, they disagreed on how severe the problems were. Large majorities in both parties (95% Democrats to 72% Republicans), for example, agreed the coronavirus outbreak is either a very big or moderately big problem for the country. But nearly twice as many Democrats (76%) as Republicans (37%) said it is a very big problem.

Along with the coronavirus outbreak, the survey looked at several other issues facing the country--and unemployment rates, how racial and...