Fox News Poll: Two-thirds of voters feel hopeful

Hope and relief are voters’ most common reactions to the presidential election.  More are embarrassed than angry, while many feel scared. 

Sixty-seven percent feel hopeful, up from 59 percent who felt that way after the 2016 election.  And 59 percent are relieved, up from 50 percent.

Over half feel embarrassed (55 percent), excited (52 percent), and scared (51 percent).  Just under half are angry (49 percent) and empowered (47 percent).  The fewest, although still a sizable minority, are depressed (39 percent).

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The new Fox News nationwide survey also finds the biggest shifts in sentiment compared to 2016 are a 12 percentage-point increase in the number of voters feeling angry, and a 10-point increase in both the number who are embarrassed and scared. 

No surprise, Democrats are most likely to describe their post-election feelings as hopeful (90 percent), relieved (87 percent), and excited (79 percent).  For Republicans, the top responses are angry (67 percent), scared (60 percent), and embarrassed (59 percent). 

Fewer voters report disagreements with friends and family about this year’s election.  Some 39 percent have had an election-related argument, down from 51 percent after the 2016 election.  Disputes are down by 13 points among Democrats, 9 points among Republicans, and 20 points among independents. 

Some additional optimism from the survey:  most voters, including a majority of Republicans, say they will at least give President-elect Joe Biden a chance. 

One-third fully supports Biden (34 percent), another 21 percent are with him for now, but will be watching what he does, and 24 percent are willing to give him a chance.  One in five say they’ll never support Biden (20 percent). 

Among Republicans, 58 percent will support or give Biden a chance, while 41 percent say that’s never going to happen.  For voters who backed President Donald Trump, it is 52 percent support/chance vs. 46 percent never.  Most Democrats fully support him (59 percent) or are with him for now (28 percent). 

When asked about their expectations for Biden’s presidency, nearly twice as many say he’ll be one of the country’s worst presidents (20 percent) as say he’ll be one of the greatest (13 percent).  For comparison, four years ago, 11 percent predicted Trump would be one of the greatest and 31 percent one of the worst.

Another 26 percent think Biden’s presidency will be above average, 21 percent say average, and 12 percent say below average. 

Overall, by a 20-point margin, more view Biden favorably (59 percent) than unfavorably (39 percent).  His 59 percent favorable number matches his record, which he first hit around the 100-day mark of the Obama administration (April 2009).

Trump’s personal rating is underwater by nine points (45 percent favorable vs. 54 percent unfavorable). 

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Biden does better than Trump among the party faithful.  He gets a net +89 favorable score among Democrats compared to Trump’s +72 rating among Republicans. 

For Vice President-elect Kamala Harris, a high of 54 percent of voters view her positively and 42 percent negatively.  That gives her a net +12 rating.  Vice President Mike Pence is in positive territory by one (49-48 percent).

Pollpourri

Sixty-five percent of voters approve of how Biden is handling the presidential transition.  That’s far more than the 37 percent who approved of the job Trump did on the transition four years ago.  Part of the difference is that nearly all Democrats, 94 percent, approve of Biden on the transition, while just 73 percent of Republicans approved of Trump. 

Conducted December 6-9, 2020 under the joint direction of Beacon Research (D) and Shaw & Company (R), this Fox News Poll includes interviews with 1,007 randomly chosen registered voters nationwide who spoke with live interviewers on both landlines and cellphones.  The total sample has a margin of sampling error of plus or minus three percentage points. 

Fox News’ Victoria Balara contributed to this report.