Political Affiliation and the Death Penalty

Pew Resource Center 2015 Poll on Political Affiliation and the Death Penalty

A 2015 national poll by the Pew Resource Center reported declining support for the death penalty in the United States across virtually all demographic groups, with the drop in support especially pronounced among Democrats. Pew Resource Center, Less Support for Death Penalty, Especially Among Democrats (Apr. 16, 2015). Pew reported significant drops in support for the death penalty among all political affiliations between 1995 and 2015 (see the chart to the right), with declines of 31 and 22 percentage points among Democrats and Independents, respectively, and a 10 percentage-point drop in support for the death penalty among Republicans. As of March 2015, 77% of Republicans, 57% of Independents, and 40% of Democrats said they favored the death penalty. 17% of Republicans, 37% of Independents, and 56% of Democrats said they opposed capital punishment.

From November 2011 to March 2015, Pew reported significant declines in support for the death penalty among Democrats and Independents (9 and 7 percentage points, respectively), and a slight decline among Republicans as a whole (2 percentage points). However, support for the death penalty among those who identified themself as conservative Republicans fell 7 percentage points during this period, matching the drop for Independents and for those who identified themselves as conservative/moderate Democrats. Support for the death penalty among liberal Democrats fell by 11 percentage points (to 29%) over this period.

The Pew Poll also asked respondents questions about whether the death penalty was morally justified, the risk of executing innocent persons, whether the death penalty is a deterrent, and racial disparities in the application of the death penalty. Republicans were significantly more likely to say that the death penalty was morally justified (80%), as compared to Democrats (50%) and Independents (64%). 79% of Democrats believed that the death penalty carried a risk of putting an innocent person to death, as contrasted with 71% of Independents and 61% of Republicans. A significant majority of Democrats (71%) and Independents (60%) believed that the death penalty was not a deterrent, a view shared by about half of all Republicans (48%). The biggest divide on death penalty views—a nearly 40 percentage point split—came in the area of race. While 70% of Democrats believed that minorities were more likely to face the death penalty, only half of Independents (52%) and fewer than a third of Republicans (31%) shared that view.

For additional information on Professor Frank Baumgartner’s Index of Death Penalty Public Opinion, click here.