The vast majority of Americans say the U.S. is losing the fight against ISIS, according to a new Quinnipiac University poll released Monday.
The poll finds that just 17 percent of American voters believe the U.S. is winning the fight against ISIS, compared to 64 percent who say the U.S. is losing.
The sentiment that the U.S. is losing to ISIS crosses party lines with Republicans, Democrats and independent voters all saying the U.S. is losing.
According to the poll, 74 percent of Republicans said the U.S. is losing (with 12 percent saying the U.S. is winning), 50 percent of Democrats and 69 percent of Independents agreed. Just 28 percent of Democrats and 13 percent of independents said the U.S. is winning.
“Americans, by a huge margin, believe the fight against ISIS is being lost,” Tim Malloy, assistant director of the Quinnipiac University Poll, said.
While Americans say the U.S. is losing, 64 percent say the focus should be more on domestic issues with 32 percent saying they think the U.S. should continue to promote democracy abroad as a way to keep the U.S. more secure.
“By a 2-1 margin, voters think the United States is too overextended and should focus on domestic issues,” Malloy added.
The poll of 1,711 registered voters was conducted from May 19 – 26 and has a margin of error of +/- 2.4 percentage points.