While White House and congressional negotiators take another stab at a pandemic relief package weeks out from Election Day, Democrats and Republicans across the country overwhelmingly support more aid, but continue to differ on how much to spend and where the money should go, a new survey by researchers from Northeastern, Harvard, Northwestern, and Rutgers has found.
In a rare display of agreement among a deeply polarized electorate, 88 percent of Democrats and 75 percent of Republicans support a follow-up to the four rounds of aid totalling $3 trillion that passed earlier this year, the survey found. They also agree that the next installment should come in the form of direct cash payments to individuals and businesses.
Support among racial demographics was also strikingly similar, suggesting that the economic pain is felt broadly and another injection of federal money is urgently needed, says David Lazer, University Distinguished Professor of political science and computer and information sciences at Northeastern, and one of the researchers who conducted the study.
