Political Violence: A Worry That Keeps Rising Across Surveys

Few questions get a more consistent answer in American polling than this one: is political violence a problem? What changes is the intensity, and the trend line points up.

• States United/YouGov (June 17-20, 2025, 1,515 adults) found 57 percent call political violence a major problem, up from 44 percent in June 2023 ^[1].
• Seventy-eight percent said political violence has increased in recent years, versus 58 percent in June 2023 ^[1].
• In September 2024, a Leadership Conference poll found 73 percent of likely voters worried about political violence after the elections ^[2].
• A March 2026 online survey found 84 percent say political violence is a problem ^[3].

The tracking survey

States United and YouGov have asked the same question repeatedly. In June 2023, 44 percent called political violence a major problem. In June 2024 the figure was about 45 percent, and by June 17 to 20, 2025, in a survey of 1,515 adults with a margin of error of plus or minus 2.7 points, it was 57 percent, the highest in two years ^[1][4]. The 2025 poll followed the June shootings of Minnesota lawmakers ^[1].

A parallel question asks whether violence has increased. Seventy-eight percent said yes in 2025, up from 58 percent in 2023. Only 3 percent thought it had decreased, and 14 percent thought it stayed the same ^[1].

Other surveys, same direction

The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights surveyed 1,000 likely voters by phone from September 3 to 8, 2024, with a margin of error of plus or minus 3.1 points. Seventy-three percent said they were worried about political violence after the elections; the concern was strongest among liberals (92 percent) and lower among moderates (68 percent) and conservatives (63 percent) ^[2].

A March 2026 online survey from the Global Project Against Hate and Extremism found that 84 percent consider political violence a problem, though that survey used a non-probability sample, which limits precision ^[3].

More on what the tracking survey found

The States United survey, taken June 17 to 20, 2025 with YouGov among 1,515 adults, has a margin of error of about plus or minus 2.7 points ^[1]. Besides the 57 percent calling political violence a major problem, 29 percent called it a minor problem, so 86 percent saw it as either, the highest in two years ^[1]. Only 3 percent said political violence had decreased and 14 percent said it was unchanged; the share saying it had increased rose from 69 percent in September 2023 to 78 percent in June 2025 ^[1]. The survey followed the June 2025 shooting that targeted Minnesota House Speaker Melissa Hortman and her husband ^[1].

Different surveys use different yardsticks, so the best use of these numbers is comparing each series with itself. The States United series rose over its own history, while the March 2026 online poll found 84 percent calling political violence a problem and the Leadership Conference poll found 73 percent of likely voters worried about it after the elections ^[3][2]. None of the surveys, on their face, says why the numbers rise, or whether higher concern tracks more actual violence.

Reading the trend carefully

These polls use different wording, samples and years, so their numbers are not directly comparable: one asks whether violence is a “major problem,” another whether voters are “worried,” another whether it is “a problem” at all. The common finding is directional. Concern is high, it is bipartisan, and in the series that has the longest run, it has risen ^[1][2][3].

Questions readers ask

Do most Americans think political violence is a major problem?

In States United’s June 2025 survey, 57 percent did, up from 44 percent in June 2023 ^[1].

Has concern about political violence increased?

Yes in the tracking survey: 78 percent said violence had increased in 2025, versus 58 percent in 2023 ^[1].