Most Trusted Branch of Government (October 2012)

Most Trusted Branch of Government (October 2012)

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    Respondents were asked, "Of the three branches of federal government, which one do you trust the most?"
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categorycolumn-1
The U.S. Congress, the legislative branch10%
The President, the executive branch28%
The U.S. Supreme Court, the judicial branch34%
Don't know27%
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    Respondents were asked, "Of the three branches of federal government, which one do you trust the most?" Measurement of Party ID for this figure 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 figure.
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categoryDemocratIndependentRepublican
The U.S. Congress, the legislative branch1%11%19%
The President, the executive branch61%18%2%
The U.S. Supreme Court, the judicial branch22%38%45%
Don't know16%33%34%
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    Respondents were asked, "Of the three branches of federal government, which one do you trust the most?" Party identification is calculated according to the PID7 variable, a seven point scale of party identification.
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categoryLean RepublicanNot very strong RepublicanStrong Republican
The U.S. Congress, the legislative branch15%8%26%
The President, the executive branch1%6%1%
The U.S. Supreme Court, the judicial branch55%49%36%
Don't know29%37%37%
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    Respondents were asked, "Of the three branches of federal government, which one do you trust the most?" Party identification is calculated according to the PID7 variable, a seven point scale of party identification.
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categoryLean DemocratNot very strong DemocratStrong Democrat
The U.S. Congress, the legislative branch2%1%1%
The President, the executive branch51%30%78%
The U.S. Supreme Court, the judicial branch27%41%13%
Don't know20%28%9%
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    Respondents were asked, "Of the three branches of federal government, which one do you trust the most?" Ideology is measured on a scale of 1-7, with 1 corresponding to "extremely liberal", 7 corresponding to "extremely conservative, and 4 corresponding to "in the middle." For the purposes of this table, respondents who placed themselves at or between points 1 and 3 on the scale are considered "liberal," respondents who placed themselves at point 4 on the scale are considered "moderate," and respondents who placed themselves at or between points 5 and 7 on the scale are considered conservative.
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categoryLiberalsModeratesConservatives
The U.S. Congress, the legislative branch0%4%21%
The President, the executive branch70%30%8%
The U.S. Supreme Court, the judicial branch18%35%41%
Don't know11%31%31%
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    Respondents were asked, "Of the three branches of federal government, which one do you trust the most?" The ideology measure is based on respondent self-placement in response to the following question: "On a scale from 1 to 7, where 1 is extremely liberal, 7 is extremely conservative, and 4 is exactly in the middle, where would you place yourself?" The placements are further classified such that 1 is extremely liberal, 2 is very liberal, 3 is somewhat liberal, 4 is moderate, 5 is somewhat conservative, 6 is very conservative, and 7 is extremely conservative.
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categoryLeaning conservativeSomewhat conservativeExtremely conservative
The U.S. Congress, the legislative branch16%24%22%
The President, the executive branch10%2%14%
The U.S. Supreme Court, the judicial branch46%41%28%
Don't know27%32%36%
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    Respondents were asked, "Of the three branches of federal government, which one do you trust the most?" The ideology measure is based on respondent self-placement in response to the following question: "On a scale from 1 to 7, where 1 is extremely liberal, 7 is extremely conservative, and 4 is exactly in the middle, where would you place yourself?" The placements are further classified such that 1 is extremely liberal, 2 is very liberal, 3 is somewhat liberal, 4 is moderate, 5 is somewhat conservative, 6 is very conservative, and 7 is extremely conservative.
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categoryLeaning liberalSomewhat liberalExtremely liberal
The U.S. Congress, the legislative branch0%1%0%
The President, the executive branch70%73%65%
The U.S. Supreme Court, the judicial branch22%14%13%
Don't know8%12%22%
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    Respondents were asked, "Of the three branches of federal government, which one do you trust the most?" 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 (non-Tea Party movement) and those who responded "Tea Party candidate" are considered Tea Party Republicans.
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categoryDemocratRepublicanTea Party
The U.S. Congress, the legislative branch1%18%21%
The President, the executive branch67%2%1%
The U.S. Supreme Court, the judicial branch22%46%41%
Don't know11%33%36%
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    Respondents were asked, "Of the three branches of federal government, which one do you trust the most?" Race is calculated according to the RACE1 variable.
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categoryWhiteBlackHispanic
The U.S. Congress, the legislative branch12%1%10%
The President, the executive branch17%71%39%
The U.S. Supreme Court, the judicial branch41%19%25%
Don't know30%9%26%
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    Respondents were asked, "Of the three branches of federal government, which one do you trust the most?" Gender is calculated according to the GENDER variable.
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categoryMaleFemale
The U.S. Congress, the legislative branch11%10%
The President, the executive branch31%25%
The U.S. Supreme Court, the judicial branch33%35%
Don't know25%30%
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    Respondents were asked, "Of the three branches of federal government, which one do you trust the most?" Location is based on the following question, "Would you say that you live in an urban, suburban, or rural community?"
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categoryUrbanSuburbanRural
The U.S. Congress, the legislative branch7%12%10%
The President, the executive branch38%26%19%
The U.S. Supreme Court, the judicial branch29%38%33%
Don't know25%24%38%
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    Respondents were asked, "Of the three branches of federal government, which one do you trust the most?" Education is calculated according to the EDUC variable.
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categoryNo high schoolHigh school graduateSome college2-year4-yearPost-grad
The U.S. Congress, the legislative branch14%8%10%11%12%14%
The President, the executive branch46%26%34%30%25%17%
The U.S. Supreme Court, the judicial branch1%30%33%34%41%57%
Don't know39%37%23%25%21%12%

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