Poll: Majority Not Optimistic About America's Future

A majority of Americans are not very optimistic about America’s future, a Trafalgar Group/Convention of States Action survey released Thursday found.

The survey, taken August 14-16, 2021 among 1,073 likely general election voters, asked respondents, “How optimistic are you about the future of America?”

Overall, 52.8 percent indicated they are not optimistic. Of those, 28.8 percent said they are “not optimistic at all.” In contrast, 43.7 percent indicated at least some optimism.

Democrats are far more likely to have an optimistic outlook compared to Republicans. Just over 62 percent of Democrats indicated they are at least “somewhat” optimistic, compared to 31 percent of Republicans who said the same.

The vast majority of Republicans, 65.4 percent, say they are not optimistic, and a majority of independent voters, 62.9 percent, hold the same sentiment.

The survey’s margin of error is +/- 2.99 percent.

“Americans are optimistic people. When both Republicans and Independents are tracking almost identically in registering a lack of optimism about our future—and a sizable group of Democrats feel the same way—there is a serious problem,” Mark Meckler, President of Convention of States Action said in a statement.

“From Afghanistan to COVID-19 to inflation to foreign policy to basic things like education, Washington DC is failing to solve challenges, and the people are losing hope,” he continued.

“Our founders did not design a system in which Washington is the answer,” Meckler added. “State and local governments are solving our problems, and these numbers demonstrate yet again that voters believe the best solutions are close to home.”

The survey follows America’s battle against government overreach in the era of the Chinese coronavirus pandemic — from mask mandates to vaccine requirements — and comes days after the Taliban toppled the U.S.-backed government in Afghanistan.