What do Americans feel is the most important issue facing the country?

It’s the economy, stupid.

That appeared to be the slogan of the 2024 election. Indeed, the economy appears to have been a significant driver in President Donald Trump’s return to the White House.

What Americans view as the “main issue,” and which political party Americans feel is best suited to handle said issue, tends to be a significant factor in electoral politics. In 2024, this effect was on full display: polling leading up to the election showed that, to a plurality of Americans, the economy was the most important issue facing the country and Trump as a plurality’s preferred candidate on the economy.

But in 2025, the main issue appears to have shifted. Through 2024, the economy tended to be the top issue, with political extremism and threats to democracy” trailing at an arm’s length distance. Now, the roles have reversed.

Below are five charts on what issues Americans feel are the primary issues facing the country.

1. The main issue has shifted since Trump’s inauguration. Political extremism and threats to democracy now ranks as the issue a plurality of Americans find as the most important issue facing the country.
2. Republicans no longer have the “advantage” on the main issue. We here at Ipsos generally say that the candidate that performs best on the “main issue” wins an election roughly 85% of the time. Thus, this shift is significant because the main issue has shifted away from a Republican-advantage to equal ground.
3. For Democrats, a rallying issue. Among Democrats, political extremism and threats to democracy is now the dominant issue. Democrats’ currently level of unity on the main issue far exceeds their unity last November.
4. For Republicans, a reflection of growing economic satisfaction. In 2024, the economy was a pressing issue for Republicans. Thus far into Trump’s second administration, Republicans have been satisfied with how Trump has been handling the economy and, compared to 2024, have a much more positive outlook on the economy. This has translated into a Republican issue landscape that is less concentrated and more diverse.
5. Of course, the country is far from a monolith. Ultimately, the percent of Americans selecting political extremism and threats to democracy as the main issue facing the country is a minority. There are many issues facing the country; things like extremism, the economy, and immigration are just three of many; the “main issue” is far from the only component of an election.

There are two primary forces driving the shift in the main issue: rising economic satisfaction among Republicans and a growing dissatisfaction among Democrats with the state of democracy.

Though the 2026 midterms are far away, it doesn’t take too much imagination to see how the changing issue landscape could play out into how Democrats and Republicans structure their campaign.

Democrats will likely use their base’s concern with the state of democracy as a rallying cry in 2026. Republicans, who lack the same rallying issue, will likely need to focus more on translating their base’s satisfaction with the Trump administration into votes.

Of course, the 2026 midterms are more than a year away. But a garden doesn’t grow overnight; this is the time when the seeds are planted. Watch this space.