The common theory is that partisan animosity surges before elections and then reduces after an election has passed. Our data, however, show that while there are fluctuations between weeks, the differences we observe are very small and are generally statistically indistinguishable. This could be because all of our data are still relatively close to the 2022 midterms, because of the national importance of the Georgia runoff, because of the movement toward permanent election campaigns, or because of something else entirely. Stay tuned as we explore this more closely.
Feelings toward the two parties clarifies the overall lack of movement on affective polarization–there is movement, but the out-party never comes close to the threshold for positive feeling (51), and the in-party never dips into negative territory. So, although there are small shifts in affective polarization, we are just observing differing levels of hate and not fluctuation between positive and negative feelings for the two parties.
You can always view the results of the America’s Political Pulse tracking poll to see major findings, explore over-time trends, or download top-line results.