(Gallup) Only 32% pay close attention to national political news, down 10 points since 2020


The following is from Gallup News.

After paying heightened attention to national politics in 2020 (42%) and 2021 (38%), the percentage of Americans reporting they follow news about national politics “very closely” has dipped to 32% — a more normal reading for nonelection years.

Still, the public continues to pay greater attention to politics than it did in the 1990s and early 2000s, when less than 30% were tuned in.

Since 2006, the level of very close attention being paid to national political news has not fallen below 30%.

The latest results are from Gallup’s annual Governance survey, conducted Sept. 1-23, prior to Congress passing a short-term federal government funding measure to avoid a government shutdown. 

In addition to the 32% who currently say they are paying very close attention, 41% follow national political news “somewhat closely,” 19% “not too closely” and 8% “not at all.”

The most notable aspect of the recent trend has been the spikes in public attention during presidential election years.

The four highest readings in Gallup’s trend were all measured in presidential election years, including 43% in 2008, 42% in 2020, and 39% in both 2012 and 2016.

The 36% paying very close attention in 2004 is the same or higher than all but one nonelection year, the 38% measured in 2021.

On average, 40% of U.S. adults have paid very close attention to political news in presidential election years since 2001.

Older, More Highly Educated Respondents Most Likely to Follow Politics Closely

There are wide differences in the amount of attention paid to national political news by age and educational attainment.

In the current survey, 51% of U.S. adults aged 65 and older say they follow political news very closely, as do 40% of those between the ages of 50 and 64. Far fewer 30- to 49-year-olds (26%), and especially 18- to 29-year-olds (9%), are following politics very closely.

More than four in 10 college graduates (including those with and without a postgraduate education) follow political news very closely, while fewer than three in 10 adults without a college degree do.

There are modest gender differences in attention to politics, with more men (35%) than women (30%) following politics very closely. Republicans and Democrats pay similar levels of attention, but independents pay less than either of the two major party groups.

Americans’ attention to national political news is cyclical, usually spiking in presidential election years. Outside of presidential election years, between 30% and 35% of U.S. adults typically say they follow politics very closely.

Link to article here.

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3 thoughts on “(Gallup) Only 32% pay close attention to national political news, down 10 points since 2020”

  1. Paying close attention is sickening. It’s better to just scan the liars and hope who talks is telling the truth, but the odds are against it.

  2. Could be that the PEOPLE are fed up with the government and know who they will be voting for already. Another possiblity is that as we get closer to Nov 2024 more will start paying closer attention; many changes can happen in a year.
    I would make a bet that Biden will not be running for POTUS and some unknown individual will step up and displace Newsome, Harris as the democrat nominee (not Michelle Obama either)

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