Democrats are significantly less likely than Republicans to prioritize patriotism as a core national value, according to a new Gallup and With Honor survey. The data reveals a 40-percentage-point disparity, with 46% of Republicans ranking patriotism among the top three values the nation needs most, compared to only 6% of Democrats. This gap represents the widest ideological disagreement in the poll, exceeding differences on other key metrics.
The survey identifies distinct priorities for each party regarding the nation's future. Republicans placed the highest emphasis on patriotism at 46%, followed by responsibility at 41% and honesty at 38%. In contrast, Democrats valued equality highest at 44%, followed by fairness at 34% and honesty at 32%. Gallup noted that Democrats are far more likely to cite equality, fairness, and kindness, while Republicans are far more likely to cite responsibility and patriotism.
Independents positioned themselves between the two parties. They most frequently selected honesty at 34%, responsibility at 32%, and integrity at 31%. Only 15% of independents selected patriotism. When viewing the country broadly, Americans generally prioritized honesty at 34%, responsibility at 32%, and integrity at 31% as the most urgently needed values.
An age divide also mirrors the political split in the data. Adults aged 65 and older were nearly three times as likely as those aged 18 to 39 to say the nation needs more patriotism, with 32% of older adults selecting the value compared to 12% of younger adults. Beyond patriotism, equality represented the second-largest partisan divide. It was chosen by 44% of Democrats but only 10% of Republicans, creating a 34-point spread. Fairness similarly split the electorate, selected by 34% of Democrats versus 15% of Republicans.
Despite these sharp differences in prioritized values, the survey found broad consensus on political tolerance and shared national principles. When asked which values they believed most Americans shared regardless of political leanings, patriotism was one of the most selected. Thirty-two percent of respondents believed most Americans shared patriotism, trailing only freedom at 38%. The list of options included twelve items: freedom, patriotism, service, kindness, respect, equality, fairness, responsibility, integrity, courage, honesty and humility.
76% of Americans believed people shared at least one of these values regardless of politics. Fifty-nine percent said at least two values were shared, and 46% said at least three were shared. The data also indicated a high level of agreement on the necessity of compromise. Seventy percent of respondents said elected leaders must be willing to compromise across party lines, even if it comes at a personal political cost. Furthermore, 79% of Americans stated that respecting different values matters more than sharing the same ones. This sentiment was held by 84% of Democrats, 81% of independents, and 72% of Republicans.
The Gallup analysis concluded that Americans agree to disagree on specific values while maintaining a shared commitment to tolerance. The survey was conducted May 12 through May 22 among a nationally representative panel of more than 3,000 U.S. adults.