A lot Some Not much Not at all Don't know/no opinion
Full Sample 16% 26% 12% 44% 2%
Democrats 31 44 9 11 4
Republicans 3 9 13 74 1
Independents 11 27 15 43 4
Tea Party Republicans 2 5 7 86 0
Mainline Republicans 7 15 18 58 2
Men 14 24 9 50 2
Women 17 28 14 39 3
Male
Democrats
31 45 7 14 4
Female
Democrats
32 44 11 9 4
Male
Republicans
2 7 11 80 0
Female
Republicans
4 11 15 69 2
Urban 23 29 13 33 3
Suburban 13 27 11 47 2
Rural 13 18 12 54 3
Urban
Democrats
36 42 9 9 4
Suburban
Democrats
28 49 10 11 3
Rural
Democrats
28 37 11 19 5
Urban
Republicans
4 7 19 69 1
Suburban
Republicans
2 11 11 75 1
Rural
Republicans
5 8 11 76 0
Gun Owners 11 19 9 60 1
Non-Gun Owners 22 34 13 28 3
White 9 23 11 56 1
African American 41 35 8 10 6
Hispanic 21 31 15 29 4

Mouse-over for notes about the data

Measurement of Party ID for this chart is based on two questions. First, respondents were asked whether they consider themselves to be a Democrats, Republicans, independents, other, or not sure. Those who responded that they are independents or "other" were then asked if they lean toward either the Democrats or Republicans. If they indicated that they lean toward one party or the other, they are considered Democrats or Republicans for the purposes of this figure. Only "pure" independents or members of a third party who indicate that they have no preference for Democrats vis-a-vis Republicans are considered independents . Respondents who answered that they are "not sure" for either of the two aforementioned questions are not incorporated into this chart.

Tea Party identification is based on the following question, also asked in the survey: "Suppose the Tea Party movement organized itself as a political party. When thinking about the next election for Congress, would you vote for the Republican candidate from your district, the Democratic candidate from your district, or the Tea Party candidate from your district?" Those who responded "Republican candidate" are considered Republicans (Mainline Republicans) and those who responded "Tea Party candidate" are considered Tea Party Republicans.

To assess the environment of respondents, we asked, "Would you say that you live in an urban, suburban, or rural community?"

Finally, to assess gun ownership, respondents were asked, "Do you or does any other member of your household own a handgun, rifle, shot-gun, or any other kind of firearm?" Respondents who indicated that they owned a gun or that they and another family member own a gun were classified as gun owners.