Poll: Voters love progressive policies, despite Trump win

In the wake of the presidential election and as the scope of Republicans’ success at the ballot box comes to the fore, some political observers are drawing a predictable conclusion: A rightward shift among the electorate must mean that voters agree with the GOP on the major issues of the day. 

But according to a new study from Navigator Research, a majority of 2024 voters said they agreed with more progressive positions on the economy and health care, not conservative ones. 

At a superficial level, it’s easy to see why some pundits are touting an imaginary shift to the right. Take Mark Penn, a former adviser to Bill and Hillary Clinton, who made the bold claim that the results of the election meant that “America is a center right country at heart.” Take a closer look at Navigator’s polling (conducted after the election) though, and you’ll see the ideological divides aren’t that neat. 

Let’s start with health care.