As President Biden gears up to formally introduce his infrastructure plan this week in Pennsylvania, we have concluded an in-depth survey of voters’ opinions on his infrastructure proposals. We surveyed voters in congressional districts decided by 5 points or less in the 2020 elections to learn more about what these voters support and how they feel about proposals to pay for infrastructure investments.
While there is broad support for infrastructure investments, voters begin to get cold feet when it comes to proposals on how to pay for them. However, there are some clear unifying themes for funding infrastructure investment. Here are some key data points from our survey:
- 65% of voters (including 63% of Independents) support a $2 trillion investment in manufacturing, infrastructure, and technology to create 5 million new jobs for Americans
- 85% of voters – Democrats, Independents, and Republicans – support this investment to bring back critical supply chains like medicine and medical supplies so critical supply chains are made in America and we aren’t dependent on other countries for critical goods in a crisis
- 76% of voters (including 66% of Independents) support a $50 billion immediate investment to kickstart the process of repairing existing roads, highways, and bridges
- 72% oppose gas tax, including 85% of Independent voters and 45% of Democrats
- 64% oppose assessing tolls and user fees, including 76% of Independents and 48% of Democrats
- 55% oppose small fees on sales of stock and bonds
While there are numerous proposals that receive bipartisan support, Democrats should tread carefully when it comes to plans to generate revenue. Independent voters’ attitudes shift when it comes to taxes, and Democrats should try to avoid being labeled as raising taxes on the middle class and businesses coming out of the pandemic.
You can download the deck that outlines the findings on infrastructure proposals in greater detail below.
