SLU/YouGov Analysis: Missourians Rate the Issues

by Kenneth Warren, Ph.D.

SLU's Kenneth Warren, Ph.D., provides expert analysis on the results of the latest SLU/YouGov Poll, examining where Missourians stand on a variety of issues, including the economy and student loans.

We asked our likely voters in our August 2023 SLU/YouGov poll what they think should be the top priority of the Missouri state government. The top priorities were the same as in our August 2022 SLU/YouGov poll. By far, the economy ranked first, as it almost always does unless the U.S. is engaged in a very visible active war, with 44% saying the economy. The next top priority was health care, 18%, followed by infrastructure, 16%, and education, 14%. The remaining percentage answered “other.” These findings were similar to our poll findings in August 2022, where 51% answered economy, 16% mentioned health care, 14% said infrastructure, 11% answered education, and the remaining percentage said “other.” Probably, fewer likely voters in our August 2023 poll prioritized the economy compared to August 2022 because the economy was in worse shape in 2022 immediately after the pandemic.

Likely voters' responses to 'Which of the following do you think should be the TOP priority of the Missouri state government?': 44% Economy, 19% Health care, 14% Education, 16% Infrastructure, and 7% Other.

We asked our likely voters in our August 2023 poll how they would rank the condition of the economy of the U.S. and the State of Missouri. Respondents ranked the economic conditions of both the U.S. and Missouri as bleak, with only 18.5% thinking that the U.S. economy was in excellent (2.6%) to good (16%) condition, while only 21% ranked Missouri’s economy as good (18%) to excellent (1.6%). Fifty-three percent of Missouri likely voters ranked the U.S. economy as poor, and 26% ranked Missouri’s economy as poor. Of course, since Missouri is a red state with more Republican voters than Democratic voters, it is not unexpected that more Missourians would rank the U.S. economy less positively than Missouri’s since President Biden, a Democrat, is “running” the U.S. economy, while Republican Governor Parson is “running” Missouri’s economy. Pollsters find that partisanship significantly biases views on issues. Perceptions of both economies were slightly more positive than in our August 2022 SLU/YouGov poll.

Likely voters' responses to 'How would you rate the condition of the following: The Economy in the United States?': 3% Excellent, 16% Good, 28% Fair, 53% Poor, and 1% Not sure. Democratic voters' responses: ' 5% Excellent, 39% Good, 34% Fair, 20% Poor, and 2% Not sure. Republican voters' responses: 2% Excellent, 2% Good, 21% Fair, 75% Poor, and 0% Not sure.

Our August 2023 SLU/YouGov poll conveys that respondents believe race relations have improved somewhat from our August 2022 poll. While 45% of likely voters in 2022 rated race relations in their community as good to excellent, 53% of likely voters ranked race relations as good to excellent in our August 2023 poll.

We also asked respondents to rate the condition of crime in their community. The results were virtually identical to the results we found in last year’s poll. In August 2022, 34% rated the condition of crime in their community as good to excellent, while in our August 2023 poll, 35.5% answered good to excellent. Regarding the perceived condition of infrastructure, slightly more Missourians ranked the condition of infrastructure in Missouri better this August than in August of 2022, with 22% rating Missouri’s infrastructure good to excellent in 2023 compared to 19% last year. Slightly improved ratings of the condition of Missouri’s infrastructure may be due to more money being spent on infrastructure in Missouri due to the passage of Biden’s infrastructure bill, with Missouri receiving around $8 billion for infrastructure projects, some already ongoing.

Likely voters' responses to 'How would you rate the condition of the following: Race relations in your community?'. June 2020 Voter Responses 12% Excellent, 33% Good, 31% Fair, 19% Poor, and 5% Not Sure. October 2020 Voter Responses: 10% Excellent, 35% Good, 28% Fair, 22% Poor, and 4% Not sure. July 2021 Voter Responses: 12% Excellent, 35% Good, 26% Fair, 21% Poor, and 6% Not sure. August 2022 Voter Responses: 9% Excellent, 36% Good, 31% Fair, 19% Poor, and 6% Not sure. February 2023 Voter Responses: 9% Excellent, 34% Good, 31% Fair, 19% Poor, and 7% Not sure. August 2023 Voter Responses: 10% Excellent, 42% Good, 29% Fair, 14% Poor, and 4% Not sure.

Expectedly, red-state Missourians were much more likely to believe Missouri was “on the right track and headed in a good direction” than the United States by a 2-1 margin. While 40% of our likely voters in our SLU/YouGov poll felt Missouri was “on the right track and headed in a good direction,” only 20% believed that the U.S. was “on the right track and headed in a good direction.” This “right track” percentage was up from last year’s percentage of “right track” of 33%.

Likely voters' responses to 'Do you agree or disagree with the following statements: The United States is on the right track and headed in a good direction?'. October 2020 Voter Responses: 38% Agree, 54% Disagree, and 8% Not Sure. July 2021 Voter Responses: 30% Agree, 60% Disagree, and 10% Not sure. August 2022 Voter Responses: 15% Agree, 73% Disagree, and 12% Not Sure. February 2023 Voter Responses: 16% Agree, 73% Disagree, and 12% Not sure. August 2023 Voter Responses: 20% Agree, 68% Disagree, and 11% Not Sure.

On another issue, we found that 53% of Missouri likely voters believe that the State of Missouri should spend more to aid the poor.

A weak majority of Missourians, 52%, felt that the U.S. Supreme Court was correct in striking down President Biden’s loan debt forgiveness program, with 35.5% disagreeing and 12.5% saying “not sure.” Nationally, a recent ABC/Ipsos poll found that 45% of American voters agreed with the Supreme Court decision overruling Biden’s student loan forgiveness program, with 40% disapproving and another 14% undecided.

Likely voters' responses to 'Do you agree or disagree with the following statements: The U.S. Supreme Court was correct in striking down President Biden's student loan debt forgiveness program.': 52% Agree, 36% Disagree, and 12% Not Sure.

This analysis is based on data from the August 2023 SLU/YouGov poll and reflects the opinion of the author.