Democrats' confidence in key institutions at new low: Gallup

The confidence of Democratic Party voters in nine major U.S. institutions is at a new low point, according to a new survey.

The Gallup poll published Thursday found only 26 percent of Democrats have expressed a “great deal" or "quite a lot" of confidence in nine U.S. institutions, representing a 5-point decrease since last year. This was only the second time that the confidence of Democrats in the U.S. has dropped below 30 percent, Gallup noted. The first instance occurred in 2023. 

On the other end of the political spectrum, 37 percent of Republicans showed similar confidence in the institutions, representing a 9-point increase since 2024. 

The gap between the two parties is the biggest in 46 years of consistently measuring the confidence of Americans in U.S. institutions. 

Overall, the confidence of all Americans in nine major institutions is currently at 28 percent, a rating that has been below 30 percent for four consecutive years, according to the survey. 

The confidence of independents is at 25 percent, virtually unchanged for the past three years. 

Gallup has consistently tracked the confidence of Americans in institutions like the church, the military, the Supreme Court, public schools, banks, Congress, organized labor, newspapers and big business since 1979. 

Gallup has also tracked the confidence of Americans in the presidency, the police, the criminal justice system, television news and the medical system since the early 1990s. The average, including these five institutions, also sits at 28 percent. Among party lines, 41 percent of GOP voters expressed confidence, far higher than 24 percent of Democrats and independents.

The confidence level among Republicans has increased the most for the military, police and the presidency since last year, according to the poll. Inversely, the confidence among Democrats in these three institutions has fallen the most since 2024. 

The survey was conducted from June 2-26 among 1,402 adults. The margin of error was 4 percentage points.