The Thanksgiving holiday is a time of gathering with friends and family, which can sometimes bring difficult political conversations and debates. In these environments, it can be easy to focus on the division between you and your family, but here are the places you’ll likely find common ground:

Family Values

  • 81% of Democrats and 84% of Republicans have family dinner at least weekly, according to 2019 data from the American Family Survey.
  • Similar numbers of Republicans (52%) and Democrats (49%) say they derive meaning from their lives through family and children, according to 2021 data from Pew Research Center (Center Bias).
  • The First Five Years Fund reports that 78% of Republicans and 93% of Democrats support making child care more affordable through providing financial support to help families pay some of the cost of necessary care, such as providing parents with a tax credit.

Politics and Patriotism

  • 2022 data from YouGov shows 90% of Republicans, 74% of Democrats, and 75% of Independents consider themselves very or somewhat patriotic. 
  • Data from Pew Research (Center) in 2020 shows 93% of Republicans and 95% of Democrats think it is somewhat or very important to have a president that leads an ethical and moral life.

Culture

  • 80% of all Americans “believe that political correctness is a problem in society,” according to a survey conducted in December 2017 to January 2018 by More in Common (Center).
  • 79% of all Americans believed that it is morally unacceptable “to say things that might be offensive to racial or religious groups,” including 85% of Democrats and 74% of Republicans, according to a Cato Institute (Lean Right) survey conducted in 2017.

LGBTQ Issues

  • 62% of Republicans, 78% of independents, and 85% of Democrats support laws that protect LGBTQ citizens from discrimination, PRRI data finds.

  • Support for same-sex marriage hit record highs in 2021 with 55% support from Republicans, 83% from Democrats, and 73% from Independents according to Gallup’s (Center bias) data

Crime

  • 2022 data from YouGovAmerica states that 90% of Democrats and 87% of Republicans think the economy has contributed a lot or a little to the rise in murder rates. 
  • 2021 data from Newsweek (Center bias) found that 84% of voters across the political spectrum named underfunding mental health programs as a contributor to the violent crime increase.

Guns

  • 91% of Americans opposed making current gun laws less strict, including 98% of Democrats and 84% of Republicans, according to a Gallup (Center) survey conducted from September 30-October 15, 2020.
  • 2021 data from Pew Research Center (Center bias) found that majorities in both partisan coalitions favor preventing people with mental illnesses from purchasing guns (85% of Republicans and 90% of Democrats support this) and subjecting private gun sales and gun show sales to background checks (70% of Republicans and 92% of Democrats).

Police

From an Ipsos 2020 poll:

  • Nearly all Americans supported officers wearing and using body cameras, including 92% of Democrats and 91% of Republicans.
  • Large majorities of Americans supported requiring all police officers to undergo training on de-escalation tactics to avoid the use of force, including 91% of Democrats and 77% of Republicans.
  • Only 7% of Americans wanted policing to stay the same.

Economic Inequality

  • 83% of Republicans, 73% of Democrats, and 72% of Independents agree that the government’s war on poverty has been ineffective, and majorities of Democrats (69%), independents (76%), Republicans (90%), believe more economic growth will better help people in poverty, according to the same data from the Cato Institute (Lean Right).
  • When those who say there’s too much economic inequality in the U.S. are asked about the best approach for addressing it, 89% of Republicans and 81% of Democrats say it would be better for the government to invest in education and job training programs for people who are poor, the same Pew Research survey found. 

Supreme Court

  • 2021 data from Ipsos states that 71% of Democrats and 60% of Republicans support term limits or age limits on the Supreme Court. 
  • 84% of adults believe justices should not bring their political views into their cases, according to 2022 data from Pew Research. 

Immigration

  • 93% of Americans backed increasing personnel to process asylum seekers’ claims faster, including 96% of Democrats and 90% of Republicans, according to Common Ground of The American People (survey published in August 2020).
  • 80% of Americans supported increasing the number of visas for skilled workers to move to the US, including 86% of Democrats and 72% of Republicans, according to Common Ground of The American People (survey published in August 2020).
  • 75% of Americans said undocumented immigrants should have a way to stay in U.S. legally, if certain requirements are met, including 89% of Democrats and 57% of Republicans, according to a 2020 Pew Research survey.

Abortion

  • 2018 data from Gallup (Center bias) says that 83% think abortion should be legal in the first trimester when the woman's life is endangered, and 77% think first-trimester abortions should be legal when the pregnancy is the result of rape.
  • 2011 data from Gallup found that large percentages of the U.S. population are in favor of requiring informed consent for women (86% of pro-choice adults and 87% who are pro-life) and making abortion illegal in the third trimester (79% of pro-choice adults and 94% of pro-life adults).

Ukraine War and Foreign Policy 

  • 85% of Democrats and 73% of Republicans say “working closely with U.S. allies across the world to respond to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is the right strategy for the United States,” Pew Research found
  • Republicans and Democrats agree that taking measures to protect the US from terrorism (Democrats 61%, Republicans 84%) and protecting the jobs of American workers (Democrats 65%, Republicans 81%) are high on the list of important foreign policy positions, according to 2018 data from Pew Research (center).

For more on finding common ground, visit the AllSides Bridging Community page. 

 

Clare Ashcraft is the Bridging and Bias Assistant at AllSides. She has a Center bias.