A new poll shows that Republican confidence in the nation’s direction has collapsed in the wake of the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk, underscoring the growing unease among GOP voters about political violence and national leadership.
The Associated Press–NORC Center for Public Affairs Research survey, released Friday, found that a majority of Republican voters — 51 percent — now say the United States is headed in the wrong direction. That figure represents a steep jump from June, when just 29 percent of Republicans held that view.
The shift is significant. The killing of Kirk, a prominent 31-year-old conservative who was shot last week while addressing students at Utah Valley University in Orem, Utah, has not only sent shock waves through Republican circles but has also reshaped perceptions of the nation’s trajectory.
Authorities identified Tyler Robinson, a 22-year-old Utah resident, as the alleged suspect, and the state has announced it will seek the death penalty.
The disquiet among Republicans has spilled over into the broader public. According to the poll, 75 percent of American adults now believe the nation is on the wrong track, up sharply from 62 percent in June.
Democrats’ views, by contrast, remain largely unchanged. Since President Donald J. Trump’s election last November, most Democrats have consistently said the country is moving in the wrong direction, a stance that has become a baseline for the party’s voters.
Within the Republican coalition, divisions are visible. GOP voters under the age of 45 are far more likely — 61 percent — to say the country is off course, compared with 43 percent of older Republicans.
Gender differences are also pronounced: Republican women (60 percent) are more likely than men (43 percent) to say America is heading the wrong way.
The poll also highlighted areas where Mr. Trump continues to receive credit from voters. His strongest marks come on border security, with 55 percent approving of his handling of the issue, and crime, where he holds 46 percent approval.
About four in ten respondents give him positive marks on trade, the economy, immigration, health care, and the war between Israel and Hamas.
Still, the poll underscores the challenges the president faces in the broader electorate. His overall approval rating sits at 39 percent, with 60 percent disapproving. That figure mirrors the findings of a recent YouGov/Economist survey, which also placed his approval at 39 percent, down two points from the prior survey. In that poll, 57 percent of Americans disapproved of his performance.
The AP-NORC poll was conducted September 11–15 among 1,183 adults and carries a margin of error of 3.9 percentage points.
Taken together, the data paint a picture of a Republican electorate deeply shaken by Kirk’s killing and increasingly skeptical about the nation’s stability. For many conservatives, the poll suggests, the violence in Utah has become a grim marker of where the country is headed — and of the stakes in the political battles ahead.
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