Political violence from the left or right? Poll shows what Americans worry about

Americans express roughly equal levels of concern about left-wing and right-wing extremism and violence, according to a new The Economist/YouGov poll.

At the same time, overwhelming majorities believe political violence is both increasing and never justified.

The survey comes after Charlie Kirk, an influential conservative activist, was shot and killed while speaking at Utah Valley University on Sept. 10. Days later, law enforcement apprehended a suspect, identified as 22-year-old Utah resident Tyler Robinson.

The assassination drew swift reactions across the political spectrum. Many lawmakers condemned the attack and urged an end to all political violence, while some Republicans — including President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance — vowed to crack down specifically on assaults from the left.

Left vs. right political violence

In the survey — conducted Sept. 12-15 with 1,567 U.S. adults — respondents were asked: “Overall, do you think most political violence in the U.S. is committed by people on the left or the right?”

A plurality, 33%, said violence is perpetrated “mostly by the left,” while a slightly smaller share, 29%, said it is carried out “mostly by the right.” Twenty-four percent said both sides are equally to blame and 14% said they were not sure.

Both sides of the spectrum pointed fingers at the other. A majority of Republicans, 69%, said the left is responsible for most political violence, while most Democrats, 60%, said the right is largely at fault. A 29% plurality of independents said it comes from both sides.

The results were similar when respondents were asked about right- and left-wing extremism.

Sixty-one percent of respondents said they were very or somewhat concerned about left-wing extremism, while 59% said the same about right-wing extremism.

Here, again, Republicans were far more likely to express worry about extremism from the left, while Democrats were more prone to express the same concerns about the right.

Meanwhile, in the wake of Kirk’s killing, the Trump administration and some GOP lawmakers have homed in on politically motivated violence perpetrated by the left.

In an Oval Office address on Sept. 10, Trump called out “radical left political violence,” which he said “has hurt too many innocent people and taken too many lives.” A few days later, while guest-hosting Kirk’s podcast, Vance decried what he described as “festering violence on the far left.” A group of 23 House Republicans also recently requested that a committee be established to investigate “radical left” networks.

Experts, however, maintain that political violence in America is not confined to one party, according to previous reporting from McClatchy News. They point to mental illness and social isolation as the more relevant underlying factors.

Rising political violence

The survey — which has a margin of error of 3.6 percentage points — also asked respondents if the U.S. has seen more or less political violence compared to 10 years ago.

The vast majority, 83%, said the nation has seen an increase in violence, while 8% said it’s seen the same amount and just 3% said it’s seen less.

On this question, there was a consensus across the political spectrum, with 86% of Democrats, 84% of Republicans and 81% of independents stating political violence has risen.

This belief is grounded in evidence, experts — including political scientists and data researchers — previously told McClatchy News.

“The idea that domestic political violence has gotten worse in the past decade or so is a common intuition, and it is generally backed up by the data, although there is debate over the exact extent,” said Michael Becker, a data scientist who researches extremism and a lecturer at UCLA.

Additionally, a sizable majority of respondents, 78%, said that political violence is never justified. Just 10% said it is sometimes justified and 11% said they weren’t sure.

Most Republicans (89%), Democrats (75%) and independents (72%) said such violence is never appropriate. But 13% of Democrats and independents said it is sometimes justified, while 5% of Republicans said the same.

This story was originally published September 16, 2025 at 12:23 PM with the headline "Political violence from the left or right? Poll shows what Americans worry about."